Mr. Stewart Goes to Washington

In a way, this capital city and James Stewart will forever be linked. The actor's life and films seem to have become monuments to America and its ideals. And in this town perhaps more than any other, residents and tourists are remembering Stewart with affection for "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," the 1939 film in which he plays Jefferson Smith, a young idealist who becomes a senator and champions principle over politics.

Ironically, the congressmen, Supreme Court justices and pundits who attended the gala Constitution Hall premiere on Oct. 16, 1939 -- the District proclaimed it "Mr. Smith Day" -- thought Stewart and director Frank Capra were guilty of heresy for their depiction of corruption in the capital establishment. "Two-thirds of the way through the picture, they started walking out -- booing, disgusted," remembered Capra. "About the time of the filibuster, they really began to walk out in droves. The newspapermen were just vicious about it, and the senators were all vicious about it," he said. Capra sought refuge in his Willard Hotel suite.

Hollywood feared such hostile politicians as South Carolina's Sen. James Byrnes -- "It's exactly the kind of picture that dictators of totalitarian governments would like to have their subjects believe exists in a democracy," he said -- would retaliate by accelerating legislative efforts to break up the production-distribution-exhibition monopolies of the big studios. But like his character, Stewart's movie prevailed: Audiences across the nation, and the globe, loved the picture.

Decades later, it's hard to imagine such controversy existed. Indeed, today's Washington establishment appreciates what is at heart the optimism of "Mr. Smith." Former senator Bob Dole fought a war with Stewart 50 years ago; both returned to their nation as heroes. Dole told me "Mr. Smith" is one of his favorite films. "It's about a heroic, small-town political figure standing on principle against the powerful forces of Washington," he said. "Jeff Smith is a role model for countless young people, providing the timeless lesson of the importance of doing what's right."

At the Lincoln Memorial on the night of Stewart's death, in a real-life scene reminiscent of the one Capra and Stewart created on a Hollywood sound stage almost 60 years ago, it was fitting that a woman from Ohio was reading the Gettysburg Address to her granddaughter. Touring here for the Fourth of July, she said they heard the news of Stewart's passing on their hotel room TV. "Jimmy Stewart seemed like such a genuine person," she said. "His movies were always decent." A couple from Michigan said Stewart personified America. And then there was a 47-year-old man from Virginia, George Bailey, a name he shares, appropriately enough, with Stewart's character from "It's a Wonderful Life." Bailey reflected the emotions of many Americans when he noted, simply, "America lost a hero."

John Meroney is a writer in Washington.