Cinema: Mr. Smith Riles Washington

While two 60-inch army searchlights played on Washington's Constitution Hall one night last week, a hand-picked crowd of 4,000 expectant Washingtonians filed in to see Director Frank Capra's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington under the auspices of the Capital's National Press Club. On hand were most of the U. S. Senate, about half of the House, three members of the Cabinet and most of Washington's 509 correspondents. They had heard about this story of a rather sappy young idealist, who in defeating a frame-up to oust him from the Senate, exposes one U. S. Senator as corrupt, others as unimaginative, hard-boiled professional officeholders.

When the picture was over, the audience applauded loudly. But coming out from under its spell, some of them must have wondered if Director Frank Caprahad been reading late great Secretary of State John Hay's outburst to Henry Adams: "You can't use tact with a Congressman! A Congressman is a hog! You must take a stick and hit him on the snout!"

Even legislators who had never heard of Henry Adams were inclined to feel hit. Next day there was a great rubbing of sore heads on Capitol Hill. Senators charged the picture lowered the Senate's dignity. Three Senators (who declined to be quoted) upheld Senatorial dignity with these pungent comments on the film: "Not all Senators are sons of bitches." "Punk!" "It stinks!"

Quotable Senators were less spicy but just as sore. Said Senator Norris: "I've been in Congress 36 years but I've never seen a Member as dumb as that boy. . . . The movies had a chance to do a good job, but they have given the public only a false, absurd impression." Senator Pepper: "I saw my first professional football game last Sunday." Senator Lodge: "Ridiculous. Just something from Hollywood."

Sorer than the Senators were the Washington correspondents. They did not like the picture's first shot of a Washington correspondent lying tight and tousled on a sofa.

Said former Press Club President Charles Orville Gridley of the Denver Post: "Not all newspapermen are tousled-haired drunkards. Some of us are bald. Others actually comb their hair occasionally."

So far as all this publicity went, it did Mr. Smith Goes to Washington no harm at all. But there was a chance that the picture might get the Senatorial dander up to the danger point. The Neely Block-Booking Bill, now locked up in the House Interstate & Foreign Commerce Committee, would prevent big movie producers from compelling exhibitors to book a whole list of pictures in order to get one on the list which they want. Hollywood would much prefer to have the Neely bill stay locked up. Last week irate Senators talked of getting it out.