Meet John Doe

Audience Reviews

View More

Sam N @RT61650855 Dec 4, 2024 Meet John Doe is Frank Capra at his most cloying—an unbearable syrup-fest of moralising, sentimentality, and a plodding Gary Cooper I couldn’t wait for it to end. See more

Micah H @RT36741898 Nov 27, 2024 People call Frank Capra’s films “warm and fuzzy”. Although he has hopeful endings, his films deal with dark subjects. Meet John Doe is about suicide and the barrier of lies created by the media. It charges at hard topics, but ends with the idea that goodness will prevail. See more

Laura L @RT26106084 Nov 20, 2024 I watched Meet John Doe tonight. I watched it as a Christmas movie. What a surprise to find that it is so much more. Seventy years ago, people were feeling disconnected just as we are today. What began as a sensational story began a movement. It was basically a Love Thy Neighbor movement. This is something that we are sorely in need of today in America and around the world. I highly recommend watching this movie. Then, go, love your neighbor as you love yourself. Be blessed, Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage See more

Steve D @RT35616104 May 26, 2023 Too sentimental and preachy to work anymore. I used to love it. See more

ed m @RT80499164 May 17, 2023 Another Capra classic. Who's better than Barbara Stanwyck? See more

Ola G @Ollie1972 Jan 31, 2023 A local newspaper, The Bulletin, is under new management, with columnist Ann Mitchell (Barbara Stanwyck) being one of the staffers dismissed to "streamline" the paper, but not before being told to write one final column. Infuriated, Ann prints a letter from a fictional unemployed "John Doe" threatening suicide on Christmas Eve in protest of society's ills. When the letter causes a sensation among readers, and the paper's competition, The Chronicle, suspects a fraud and starts to investigate, editor Henry Connell is persuaded to rehire Ann, who schemes to boost the newspaper's sales by exploiting the fictional John Doe. From a number of derelicts who show up at the paper claiming to have written the original letter, Ann and Henry hire John Willoughby (Gary Cooper), a former baseball player and tramp in need of money to repair his injured arm, to play the role of John Doe. Ann starts to pen a series of articles in Doe's name, elaborating on the original letter's ideas of society's disregard for people in need... Bosley Crowther, the film critic for The New York Times wrote that John Willoughby was just the latest of the everyman that Frank Capra had portrayed in earlier films: With an excellent script by Mr. Riskin—overwritten in many spots, it is true—Mr. Capra has produced a film which is eloquent with affection for gentle people, for the plain, unimpressive little people who want reassurance and faith. Many of his camera devices are magnificent in the scope of their suggestion, and always he tells his story well, with his customary expert spacing of comedy and serious drama. Only space prevents us from enthusing loudly about individual "touches". In the Variety review, there was a more critical look at the plot: The synthetic fabric of the story is the weakness of the production, despite the magnificence of the Frank Capra-directed superstructure. But Robert Riskin, who wrote the screenplay from an original story by Richard Connell and Robert Presnell, leaves the audience at the finale with scarcely more than the hope that some day selfishness, fraud and deceit will be expunged from human affairs." (Via Wikipedia) "Meet John Doe" is another fine Frank Capra film from 1941 handling the subject matter of human spirit trying to survive in the midst of the collapse of decency, corruption in local politics, disbelief in the state and the shutting of doors to the needy. Capra communicates the message of exercising tolerance for one another for a better world simply. Both Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper are shining throughout the running time and this being a Capra film we do get an ending on a positive note, even if he did film several darker endings, he did choose the hopeful one in the end. Triva: It became a box-office hit and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Story. Frank Capra didn't want anyone to play John Doe except Gary Cooper, who agreed to the part (without reading a script) for two reasons: he had enjoyed working with Capra on Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) and he wanted to work with Barbara Stanwyck. Four different endings were filmed, but all were ultimately deemed unsatisfactory during previews. A letter from an audience member suggested a fifth ending, which Frank Capra liked and used in the finished film. See more

Read all reviews

Meet John Doe

My Rating

Read More Read Less WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW POST RATING