Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
A naive Boy Ranger appointed to the Senate must navigate a web of corrupt power brokers and political intrigue while trying to protect his ideals—and win the heart of the influential senator’s daughter—before he becomes a pawn in their deadly game.
“Romance, drama, laughter and heartbreak... created out of the very heart and soil of America!”
Synopsis
Following the death of a U.S. senator, the idealistic Jefferson Smith is appointed to fill the vacancy in Washington. As a naive and earnest newcomer to politics, he soon finds himself confronting political corruption.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 276+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Al ClarkShot by Joseph WalkerScored by Dimitri TiomkinSound by John Livadary
Box Office
1939 · Box office
💰 Box-office hit — grossed 6.4× its budget
Why 2.5×?
Cinemas keep roughly half of every ticket sold, and a wide release’s marketing often costs about as much again as the film — so a movie needs to gross around 2.5× its production budget just to break even theatrically. It’s a rule of thumb, not the studio’s ledger (home video and streaming come later).
Worldwide gross
$9.6M
Re-release box office
- 2018590 theaters
- $228K($300K today)
Domestic gross earned in theatrical re-release, by year · adjusted for inflation
Full synopsis
Versions & cuts
- TV· 120 min
Also known as
- (Working Title)Caballero sin espada
- Mr. Smith geht nach Washingtonde
- Mister Smith Goes to Washingtonen
- Monsieur Smith au Sénatfr
- Mr. Smith au sénatfr
- Mister Smith va a Washingtonit
- Mr. Smith va a Washingtonit
- (Bulgarian)Г-н Смит отива във Вашингтон
Release dates around the world4 countries · showhide
- United StatesOct 17, 1939
- CanadaOct 21, 1939
- SwedenDec 23, 1939
- BrazilDec 25, 1939
Production & Distribution
Community tags
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Cast & Crew
276 unique people credited
Top billed cast
James Stewart
as Jefferson Smith
James Stewart Nm0000071
as Jefferson Smith
Jean Arthur
as Saunders
Claude Rains
as Senator Joseph Harrison Paine
Edward Arnold
as Jim Taylor
Guy Kibbee
as Governor Hubert 'Happy' Hopper
Thomas Mitchell
as Diz Moore
Eugene Pallette
as Chick McGann
Beulah Bondi
as Ma Smith
H B Warner
as Senator Agnew - Majority Leader
Harry Carey
as President of the Senate
Astrid Allwyn
as Susan Paine
Supporting cast
206Ruth Donnelly
as Mrs. Hopper
Grant Mitchell
as Senator MacPherson
Porter Hall
as Senator Monroe
H V Kaltenborn
as H.V. Kaltenborn
Charles Lane
as Nosey
Pierre Watkin
as Senator Barnes - Minority Leader
Dick Elliott
as Carl Cook
William Demarest
as Bill Griffith
Billy Watson
as Peter Hopper
Delmar Watson
as Otis Hopper
Harry Watson
as Jimmie Hopper
Larry Simms
as Hopper Boy
Garry Watson
as Hopper Boy
Erville Alderson
as Handwriting Expert
Harry Anderson
as Hoodlum
Stanley Andrews
as Senator Hodges
William Arnold
as Reporter
Sam Ash
as Senator Lancaster
Edwin August
as Senator
Frank Austin
as Inventor at Smith's Office Door
Harry A Bailey
as Senator Hammett
Tommy Baker
as Boy Ranger
Kathryn Bates
as Committeewoman
Brooks Benedict
as Senate Clerk
Wilson Benge
as Hopper's Butler
Edward Biby
as Foreign Diplomat
Wade Boteler
as Family Man
Harry C Bradley
as Arthur Kim
Lynton Brent
as Photographer
Ed Brewer
as Senate Reporter
Al Bridge
as Senator Dwight
Harlan Briggs
as Mr. Edwards - Howling Citizen
Tex Brodus
as Politician
Edward Brophy
as Newspaper Employee
Tommy Bupp
as Boy Cheering for Smith in Meeting
Harry Burkhardt
as Senate Reporter
Frederick Burton
as Senator Dearhorn
Georgia Caine
as Third Radio Speaker
Ken Carpenter
as Announcer
Jack Carson
as Sweeney Farrell - Newsman
Burr Caruth
as Townsend
Maurice Cass
as Handwriting Expert
Allan Cavan
as Ragner - Newsman
Eddy Chandler
as Reporter
George Chandler
as Reporter
Davison Clark
as Committeeman
Dora Clement
as Mrs. McGann
Richard Clucas
as Minor Role
Shirley Coates
as Assistant Bartender
Edmund Cobb
as Senator Gower
Eddie Coke
as Photographer
Dorothy Comingore
as Woman at Station
Chester Conklin
as Man in Press Section of Senate Gallery
Hal Cooke
as Reporter
George Cooper
as Waiter
Georgie Cooper
as Committeewoman
Jack Cooper
as Photographer
Nick Copeland
as Senate Reporter
Anne Cornwall
as Senate Reporter
Gino Corrado
as Barber
Maurice Costello
as Diggs - Newsman
Alec Craig
as Speaker
Beatrice Curtis
as Paine's Secretary
Lew Davis
as Senate Clerk
Dulce Day
as Senate Reporter
Wally Dean
as Paine's Friend
Vernon Dent
as Senate Reporter
Harry Depp
as Hat Salesman, Secretary
Joe Devlin
as Waiter
Clyde Dilson
as Reporter
John Dilson
as Secretary
Neal Dodd
as Senate Chaplain
Ann Doran
as Paine's Secretary
Lester Dorr
as Taylor's Stooge
Robert Dudley
as Reporter
Edward Earle
as Reporter
Helen Jerome Eddy
as Paine's Secretary
Jack Egan
as Reporter
Douglas Evans
as Francis Scott Key
Eddie Fetherston
as Senate Reporter
Mabel Forrest
as Senate Reporter
Byron Foulger
as Hopper's Secretary
Gladys Gale
as Committeewoman
Jack Gardner
as Reporter
Frances Gifford
as Hopper Girl
June Gittelson
as Woman at Station
Gus Glassmire
as Angry Committee Member
Mary Gordon
as Woman
Jesse Graves
as Black Committeeman
Lorna Gray
as Woman at Station
Roger Haliday
as Senate Guard
Cliff Hall
as Senator in Final Scene
Wilfred Hari
as House Boy
Harry Hayden
as First Radio Announcer
Henry Hebert
as Senator
Louis Jean Heydt
as Soapbox Speaker
Fred Hoose
as Senator
Philip Hurlic
as Boy Ranger
Olaf Hytten
as Butler
John Ince
as Senator Fernwick
Lloyd Ingraham
as Committeeman
Mitchell Ingraham
as Minor Role
Frank Jaquet
as Senator Byron
Dick Jensen
as Hoodlum
John Lester Johnson
as Butler
Dickie Jones
as Pageboy Richard Jones
Eddie Kane
as Reporter
Robert Emmett Keane
as Editor
Donald Kerr
as Reporter
Milton Kibbee
as Senate Reporter
Joe King
as Summers - Newsman
Richard Kipling
as Senator
Evalyn Knapp
as Reporter Asking 'What Do You Think of the Girls in This Town?
Wright Kramer
as Senator Carlton
Paul Kruger
as Bodyguard
Bobby Larson
as Boy Ranger at Lincoln Memorial
Billy Lechner
as Boy Ranger
P H Levy
as Rabbi
Vera Lewis
as Mrs. Edwards
Jack Lindquist
as Chorus Member
George Lloyd
as Hoodlum
Arthur Loft
as Chief Clerk
Jane Loofbourrow
as Committeewoman
Jack Low
as Hoodlum
Jackie Lowe
as Boy Ranger
Jimmie Lucas
as Photographer
Wilfred Lucas
as Pompous Man
Stanley Mack
as Senator
Mary Maclaren
as Head Sister
Hank Mann
as Photographer
Margaret Mann
as Nun with Cheering Orphan Boys
Thomas Martin
as Reporter
Eric Mayne
as Man in Senate Building
Philo Mccullough
as Senator Albert
Ralph Mccullough
as Assistant Bartender
Matt Mchugh
as Reporter
George Mckay
as Reporter
Lafe Mckee
as Civil War Veteran at Lincoln Memorial
Sammy Mckim
as Boy Ranger
Frank Mclure
as Senator
James Mcnamara
as Reporter
Robert Middlemass
as Second Radio Announcer
James Millican
as Senate Reporter
Howard M Mitchell
as Shoe Salesman
Charles R Moore
as Porter
Bert Moorhouse
as Man in Senate Building
Gene Morgan
as Reporter
Robert Morgan
as Senate Clerk
Edmund Mortimer
as Senator Fuller
William Newell
as Reporter
Ray Nichols
as Boy Ranger
Field Norton
as Pompous Man
Alex Novinsky
as Foreign Diplomat
Frank O Connor
as Senator Alfred
Frank Otto
as Fisk
Joe Palma
as Hoodlum
Blanche Payson
as Committeewoman
Frank Puglia
as Handwriting Expert
Spencer Quinn
as Minor Role
Tom Quinn
as Senate Reporter
Ed Randolph
as Senate Reporter
Charles Regan
as Hoodlum
Jack Rice
as Lang
Jack Richardson
as Senator Manchester
Henry Roquemore
as Senator
Johnny Russell
as Hopper Boy
Walter Sande
as Newspaperman with Pipe
Russell Simpson
as Kenneth Allen
Walter Soderling
as Senator Pickett
Harry Stafford
as Senator Atwater
Wyndham Standing
as Senator Ashman
Paul Stanton
as Flood - Newsman
Larry Steers
as Committeeman
Count Stefenelli
as Foreign Diplomat
Robert Sterling
as Senate Reporter
Craig Stevens
as Senate Reporter
Landers Stevens
as Committeeman
Carl Stockdale
as Senator Burdette
Harry Strang
as Bodyguard
Charles Sullivan
as Cab Driver
Ben Taggart
as Pompous Man
Emma Tansey
as Committeewoman
Dub Taylor
as Reporter
Ferris Taylor
as Senator Carlisle
Harry Tenbrook
as Bodyguard
Arthur Thalasso
as Doorman
Edward Thomas
as Butler
Frank M Thomas
as Hendricks
Layne Tom Jr
as Boy Ranger
Fred Snowflake Toones
as Porter
Victor Travis
as Senator Grainger
Laura Treadwell
as Mrs. Taylor
John Tyrrell
as Undetermined Role
Frederick Vroom
as Paine's Friend
Bess Wade
as Committeewoman
David Wade
as Minor Role
Max Waizmann
as Photographer
Robert Walker
as Senator Holland
Myonne Walsh
as Jane Hopper
John Ward
as Photographer
Billy Wayne
as Reporter
Lloyd Whitlock
as Schultz - Newsman
Dave Willock
as Senate Guard
Florence Wix
as Committeewoman
Eleanor Wood
as Committeewoman
William Worthington
as Committeeman
Directors
1Writers
3Producers
1Other crew
55Lionel Banks
Art Director
Cary Odell
assistant art director (uncredited)
William Jolley
assistant camera (uncredited)
Arthur S Black Jr
assistant director (as Arthur S. Black)
Al Layter
assistant electrician (uncredited)
Gaetano Verna
Chick McGann
Joseph Walker
Cinematographer, director of photography
Dimitri Tiomkin
Composer
Ben Oakland
composer: stock music (uncredited)
R H Bassett
composer: stock music (uncredited)
Eugene Joseff
costume jeweller (uncredited)
Delmar Watson
Credits
Parents Guide
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