The movie "Mr. Smith goes to Washington", directed by Frank Capra and starring James Stewart, tells the story of Jefferson Smith, an innocent and idealistic man, leader of the Boys Rangers (fictitious organization inspired by the scouts) that, overnight, they name senator of the U.S.
When Mr. Smith arrives in Washington he bumps into reality: a corrupt Washington, far from the ideals of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Smith then rebels against the corruption that corrodes Washington and fights against it like David against Goliath.
The most memorable scene in the film is Smith's speech in Congress. Just before being expelled from the Congress (due to a hoax orchestrated by corrupt congressmen), Smith gets the use of words to defend himself and ends up in a strange situation in which when his turn ends he will be immediately expelled. So he stands talking non-stop for 23 hours, in one of the most exciting speeches in defense of freedom that can be heard in a movie.
This film caused much controversy in Washington when it was released in 1939. Several senators left Constitution Hall, outraged by the portrait that Capra made of them and for showing the imperfections of the democratic system. But the public and the critics who were delighted with the film did not think so. And Capra defended his with words from the protagonist of the film: "Freedom is too precious to be buried in books".
The significance of this film was recognized with 11 Oscar nominations, although in the end only won the Oscar for best script (deserved to win more but that year competed with "Gone With the Wind", that got 8 Oscars). The film has been included in the Library of Congress of the United States and selected for the preservation of the National Film Registry.