Ask a Russian to name an American screen idol, and they'll probably think of Sylvester Stallone or Arnold Schwarzenegger -- men of few words but many muscles, men who dabble in global politics and make a point of keeping up with the latest in automatic weaponry.


But it wasn't that long ago that screen idols in the U.S. were clean-cut, neatly dressed types who fought for the rights of the common man armed with little more than rock-solid character and sheer goodness of heart. They were men like Gary Cooper, tough but ultimately humble, and Jimmy Stewart, who was aw-shucks charm itself. Not heavily armed or overly muscular, they were earnest and sound and just.


Heroes like that might not go over big at neighborhood video kiosks, but the directors of a local cinema think they still have work to do in Moscow: acquainting Russians with the basic principles of Western-style democracy. At the current "Screen School of Freedom" festival at the Cinema Museum on Krasnaya Presnya, moviegoers have a chance to learn the post-Soviet ropes courtesy of director Frank Capra, a master visionary of the American Dream.


"We have an educational goal, but it's not necessarily to tell people how they should or shouldn't think," said Vladimir Zabrodin, the Cinema Museum's deputy director. "These are classic movies, wonderful examples of good storytelling and humor. Anyone interested in film should see them."


Unfortunately, Zabrodin apparently misgauged Capra's appeal; attendance so far has been thin.


Capra's films, including Depression-era works like the 1936 "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town," and 1939's "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," starring Cooper and Stewart respectively, are morality-tale classics of American filmmaking, pitting idealistic, improbable heroes against the forces of cynicism and greed. His films, which invariably end with the plump capitalist antagonist soundly put in his place, have the ring of populism that probably isn't all that unfamiliar to Russian filmgoers.


Capra, in fact, is one of the few American directors to make it into the Soviet Film Dictionary. As far as champions of democracy go, Capra was the most a Soviet film critic could hope for. Which is why, perhaps, attendance at the showings is decidedly sparse. Zabrodin said the Capra films were playing to halls that were only half full at best.


"Capra is just not one of those directors who holds a lot of appeal for Russian audiences these days," Zabrodin acknowledged. "The Jean-Luc Godard films that are being shown now (for instance, 'Passion') -- they get a full hall every night."


The group of about 20 people who turned out for a weekend screening of "You Can't Take It With You" were low-key in their reaction to the 1938 comedy, which won Capra one of his three Oscars for best director as well as taking the best film prize.


"It was all right. The beginning was good, but it kind of dragged on," said Masha Dolgova, 23, of the film, which tells the story of an eccentric but blissfully happy family and a ruthless monopolist's plans to buy them out of their house. "And all I could think was that if that was happening in Moscow, Luzhkov would have gotten that house in a day," she said, referring to the city's mayor.


Selections from "Why We Fight," Capra's series of World War II documentaries, will be shown Friday at 6:30 P.M. "Meet John Doe" will play Sunday at 6 P.M.; "Arsenic and Old Lace" will be shown Tuesday at 6:45 P.M. The films are shown with Russian voice-over. The Cinema Museum is at 15 Druzhinnikovskaya Ulitsa. Tel. 255-9095. Nearest metro: Krasnopresnenskaya.