Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

An ordinary American appointed to the Senate is nearly destroyed by a corrupt political machine, but triumphs in the end. ... 'A stirring and even inspiring testament to liberty and freedom, to simplicity and honesty and to the innate dignity of just the average man.' –New York Times

Capra had consistently voted Republican in presidential elections ... His two main screenwriters were the openly leftist Sidney Buchman, who was also a secret Communist Party member, and Myles Connolly, a committed Catholic conservative ... It is significant that such ideological opposites as Capra, Buchman, and Connolly had cooperated so seamlessly to create this compelling salute to free speech. Praise for the film spanned the ideological gamut, including positive reviews in the communist Daily Worker and the redoubtably conservative Chicago Daily Tribune.

Think all hope for liberty is lost? Need some inspiration? This is the film to watch. This hero's quixotic battle of one against the ill-informed many is an image with which many libertarians will identify. ... The hero doesn't really understand these ideas well enough to identify what's gone wrong in Washington, but he does succeed at least in rooting out a thicket of political crookedness.