Mr Smith Goes to Washington (1939): review: 3/10

 *

Mr Smith is become a senator in a rural place in the USA. Naïve, he wants to use his mandate to set up camps for boys, failing to understand the depth of corruption and cynicism in Washington.

Very long, sentimental and only occasionally amusing, the film dawdles, utterly dated. 

It is only interesting because it is used as an occasional reference to aspects of American culture and society, usually political corruption, folksiness, popular heroism and the enduring Washington / provinces standoff.

Harvey (1950): review: 7.5/10

 *

A man has a invisible rabbit as a friend, perplexing and embarrassing his family. He is committed to an asylum.

The film seems to me to be mainly about finding connection, and the primacy of the imagination.

Harvey, thanks in good part to James Stewart, has considerable charm. and still perplexes, the bar scene being especially likable. 

However, it has dated considerably, so the screwball set pieces no longer really work- social conventions having undergone too many changes since the 50s. In addition, the film lacks sufficient overall plotting not to dawdle.