Frank Capra directs James Stewart, Jean Arthur and Claude Rains in this satirical comedy about a naive everyman who finds himself embroiled in senatorial corruption. 

An illustration of white collar duplicity, showing the mechanics of a political machine oiled with greed and lust for advancement with a rat-a-tat wit. Then throwing in good ole Jimmy Stewart, in a star making turn, as the honest wrench that chews up the cogs but almost gets ground up within them. When the villainous capitalists try to break him, they swing at him hard, harsher than we are used to in our less pointed comedies these days. This almost unpalatable mix of sweet and saltiness is trademark Capra – idealist hero framed with hardboiled snarky patter, chubby faced kids surrounding and hounding a man driven to breakdown by the very America the movie celebrates. So wise and constant is the back and forth, so as to give us no quarter of doubt to the modern fairytale’s wish fufilment. There is no room for you disagree with Capra’s worldview. It races along breathlessly then literally ends the moment the filibuster proves successful, the THE END card appears just as the gallery crowds get to their feet to cheer. There is no inch for you to question the happy ending, one that only minutes before looked so bleak and unobtainable. Stewart is delightfully gauche, Arthur thrillingly smart, and Harry Carey gets a million charming reaction shots. His face is a treasure, silently expressing a curious hope that the circus he witnesses unfolding in his Senate halls might end up on the side of the angels. A touch of class.

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