Mr Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

Why it's here:
An American government lesson wrapped inside a wonderful film.

Specs:
Just over two hours, black and white. Available on dvd.

Our family's average rating (on a scale of 1-10):
7.5

More about the film and our reaction to it:
The movie starts out funny, then graduates, slowly, to a story that is tense, a bit unsettling and very powerful. We liked all the phases of the film, especially the fantastic and earnest performance of Jimmy Stewart.

Stewart plays Smith, an innocent and idealistic youth-leader with a strong local following who, for odd reasons, ends up being called up by the governor of his state to replace the state senator who has died unexpectedly -- at a very sensitive time. A pork barrel measure regarding a dam, is about to go to ballot and the powers that be needed the deceased senator to get the measure through. Now, they are simply hoping that Smith will act as a puppet and not cause trouble.

But they weren't banking on Smith's deep commitment to the honor of the role and the integrity of the political process. Smith wants to do something important. Unfortunately, what he wants to do conflicts directly with what the powerful forces in his state expected of him. Luckily, Smith has the help of Saunders (played by Jean Arthur) a woman who despite living in a man's world, is a real politico who knows how to work the system.

The kids were fascinated with the political theater -- and the movie, knowing that it is providing a special glimpse into our government, plays that up to the hilt. We had a lot of great conversations about power and politics and techniques like filibusters. The film is beautifully filmed with a sense of love and respect for our Capital, even though the story is rooted in the harsh realities of politics.

Iconic shot:

My Man Godfrey (1936)

Why it's here:
We added My Man Godfrey after watching The Thin Man. We wanted to see more William Powell. And I remembered how much I'd loved this film years ago, especially the charming performance of Carole Lombard.

Specs:
An hour and a half, black and white. Available on dvd. I got it from my local library.

Our family's average rating (on a scale of 1-10):
8.25

More about the film and our reaction to it:
This is a really funny movie. Actually, just reading the premise on IMDB makes me chuckle: "a scatterbrained socialite hires a vagrant as the family butler." I mean, seriously. That's some good stuff. This is a "screwball" comedy, probably a better example of the style than It Happened One Night - the action is fast-paced, the dialog witty, the characters do silly, absurd (screwbally) things and you sit back and watch in a bit of a daze.

Carole Lombard was such an enormous talent. Here she is ditzy and very sweet and also reeks of "substance", even though she plays and airhead. She is an interesting mix of qualities and I found myself really mourning that she had died young and deprived us of her incredible comedic talents. There is an interesting backstory here between Lombard and William Powell (who plays the butler with whom she falls immediately in love - as does pretty much every other woman in the household). Although they were divorced in real life, Powell actually recommended Lombard as the perfect woman for the lead in the film! Talk about amicable. And they have a great chemistry. Incidentally, Lombard was then married to Clark Gable and I told the boys the story of how after Lombard died in a plane crash, Gable was distraught and joined the air force himself.

But, back to the movie...This was my husband's clear favorite in the festival. The acting is just astonishingly excellent throughout all the main and supporting roles. (We especially loved Lombard's parents. The mom, played by Alice Brady, is the funniest character in the whole movie and Eugene Pallette as the dad is sweet and sympathetic.) The dialog is hilarious and though it contains serious messages about the depression and snobbery and class divisions, it doesn't hit you on the head with them.

Iconic shot: