Actually there is no old movie "Mr. Deeds Goes to Washington," though there almost was.

The 2002 Adam Sandler movie "Mr. Deeds," dismissed by many as just another Sandler screwball comedy, was in fact a remake of the 1936 silver-screen classic "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town."

Sandler was filling the shoes of none other than screen legend Gary Cooper as Longfellow Deeds, a small-town man from Mandrake Falls, Vt., who heads to New York after inheriting a fortune as well as all of the problems that come with it.

The original film was directed by another Hollywood legend, Frank Capra, whose legend would be built upon three years later when he made "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." Perhaps you can see where this is going.

Capra says in his autobiography, "The Name Above the Title," that his assistant, Chester Sticht, approached him in 1938 with the premise for a new film, calling it "another Mr. Deeds."

The premise was based on the forgotten novel "The Gentleman From Montana," and was about a small-town man who becomes a senator and shakes up the corrupt workings of Washington, D.C.

To hear Capra tell it, he instantly knew that this wasn't a "Deeds" sequel, but would be best as a vehicle for young Jimmy Stewart, who already had the "naive, idealist" image the role required.

The decision proved right, and "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" was a hit at the box office and the Oscars and is now cited as one of the greatest political films of all time.

Besides the similar titles and the same director, confusion may also stem from the leading lady. Both "Deeds" and "Smith" boasted the lovely Jean Arthur as their leading lady.

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