Stewart's fourth 1939 film saw him work again with Capra and Jean Arthur in the political comedy-drama "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", in which Stewart played an idealist thrown into the political arena. It garnered critical praise and became the third-highest-grossing film of the year. "The Nation" stated " takes first place among Hollywood actors...Now he is mature and gives a difficult part, with many nuances, moments of tragic-comic impact." Later, critic Andrew Sarris qualified Stewart's performance as "lean, gangling, idealistic to the point of being neurotic, thoughtful to the point of being tongue-tied," describing him as "particularly gifted in expressing the emotional ambivalence of the action hero." Stewart won the New York Film Critics Circle award and received his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor.