Academy Awards
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, but won only one.[30]
| Award | Result | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Outstanding Production | Nominated | Columbia Pictures (Frank Capra) Winner was David O. Selznick – Gone with the Wind |
| Best Director | Nominated | Frank Capra Winner was Victor Fleming – Gone with the Wind |
| Best Actor | Nominated | James Stewart Winner was Robert Donat – Goodbye, Mr. Chips |
| Best Writing, Screenplay | Nominated | Sidney Buchman Winner was Sidney Howard – Gone with the Wind |
| Best Writing, Original Story | Won | Lewis R. Foster |
| Best Supporting Actor | Nominated | Claude Rains |
| Harry Carey Winner was Thomas Mitchell – Stagecoach | ||
| Best Art Direction | Nominated | Lionel Banks Winner was Lyle R. Wheeler – Gone with the Wind |
| Best Film Editing | Nominated | Gene Havlick, Al Clark Winner was Hal C. Kern, James E. Newcom – Gone with the Wind |
| Best Music, Scoring | Nominated | Dimitri Tiomkin Winner was Herbert Stothart – The Wizard of Oz |
| Best Sound Recording | Nominated | John P. Livadary Winner was Bernard B. Brown – When Tomorrow Comes |
Other honors
- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was named as one of the best films of 1939 by The New York Times and Film Daily, and was nominated for Best Film by the National Board of Review.
- James Stewart won the 1939 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor.
- In 1989, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was added to the United States National Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[31]
American Film Institute recognition
- 1998 AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies #29
- 2003 AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains:
- Jefferson Smith, Hero #11
- 2006 AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers #5
- 2007 AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) #26
