Political
Film Festival
Film Screening & Discussion
Jimmy
Stewart in Frank Capra’s
MR. SMITH
GOES TO WASHINGTON
Guest
Speakers: Rep. Steve Israel & Rep. Peter King
New Date: Monday, October 7th at 7 PM
Decades before
the “deep state” entered the parlance, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
explored how the corrupting power of money shapes American politics. When the
idealistic young Jefferson Smith (in the role that catapulted Jimmy Stewart
to fame) winds up appointed to the United States Senate, he gains the
mentorship of Senator Joseph Paine (Claude Rains). However, Paine isn't
as noble as his reputation would indicate, and he becomes involved in a scheme
to discredit Smith, who wants to build a boys' campsite where a more lucrative
project could go. Determined to stand up against Paine and his corrupt peers,
Smith takes his case to the Senate floor. When the film premiered at
Washington's Constitution Hall on October 17, 1939, over 45 real-life senators
and 250 House members were in the audience. Most of the senators attending the
premiere responded with good humor to the Hollywood treatment, with its
realistic reproduction of the Senate Chamber. Several, however, were not
amused. Majority Leader Alben Barkley complained that it made the Senate
look like "a bunch of crooks." Years later, director Frank
Capra alleged that several senators had actually tried to buy up the film
to prevent its release. (USA, 1939, 129 min. b/w, DCP)
Former
Congressman Peter King
represented New York’s 2nd and 3rd congressional districts for 28 years.
Rep. King served in many key roles, including Chair
of the House Homeland Security Committee, where he oversaw
congressional hearings on domestic terrorism. He was the ranking member of the Subcommittee
on Emergency Preparedness and served on the Financial Services
Committee and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Throughout his career in public service, Congressman King cultivated bipartisan
relationships with influential voices in Washington. Some of his most
significant legislative successes included the continuum of 9/11 legislation,
including the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, as well as Hurricane
Sandy relief funding.
Former
Congressman Steve Israel left
Capitol Hill – unindicted and undefeated – to pursue a career as a writer. In
addition to writing two critically acclaimed satires of Washington, he now
owns Theodore's Books, an independent bookstore in Oyster Bay. He
also heads the non-partisan Cornell University Institute of Politics
and Global Affairs, where for several years he taught a course on
"Politics, Media & Popular Culture." Israel was a Member
of Congress for sixteen years. He left in 2017, having served as House
Democrats chief political strategist between 2011-2015 as Chairman
of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. President Bill
Clinton called him “one of the most thoughtful Members of Congress.” Which,
Israel states, isn’t really saying much at all. Israel is a frequent political
commentator on MSNBC. His insights appear regularly in the New
York Times, The Atlantic Magazine, as well as The
Washington Post and Wall Street Journal. He was profiled
on HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and appeared on
CBS’ Sixty Minutes.
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