Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #62546 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-08-28
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Formats: Full Screen, NTSC
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 123 minutes

Review
The first of director Frank Capra's independent productions (in partnership with Robert Riskin), Meet John Doe begins with the end of reporter Ann Mitchell's (Barbara Stanwyck) job. Fired as part of a downsizing move, she ends her last column with an imaginary letter written by "John Doe." Angered at the ill treatment of America's little people, the fabricated Doe announces that he's going to jump off City Hall on Christmas Eve. When the phony letter goes to press, it causes a public sensation. Seeking to secure her job, Mitchell talks her managing editor (James Gleason) into playing up the John Doe letter for all it's worth; but to ward off accusations from rival papers that the letter was bogus, they decide to hire someone to pose as John Doe: a ballplayer-turned-hobo (Gary Cooper), who'll do anything for three squares and a place to sleep. "John Doe" and his traveling companion The Colonel (Walter Brennan) are ensconced in a luxury hotel while Mitchell continues churning out chunks of John Doe philosophy. When newspaper publisher D.B. Norton (Edward Arnold), a fascistic type with presidential aspirations, decides to use Doe as his ticket to the White House, he puts Doe on the radio to deliver inspirational speeches to the masses -- ghost-written by Mitchell, who, it is implied, has become the publisher's mistress. The central message of the Doe speeches is "Love Thy Neighbor," though, conceived in cynicism, the speeches strike so responsive a chord with the public that John Doe clubs pop up all over the country. Believing he is working for the good of America, Cooper agrees to front the National John Doe Movement -- until he discovers that Norton plans to exploit Doe in order to create a third political party and impose a virtual dictatorship on the country. The last of Capra's "social statement" films, Meet John Doe posted a profit, although Capra and Riskin were forced to dissolve their corporation due to excessive taxes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide --New York Times

Review
Best Original Story --1941 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science

About the Actor
From All Movie Guide: In an industry of prima donnas, actress Barbara Stanwyck was universally recognized as a consummate professional; a supremely versatile performer, her strong screen presence established her as a favorite of directors, including Cecil B. De Mille, Fritz Lang, and Frank Capra. Born Ruby Stevens July 16, 1907, in Brooklyn, NY, she was left orphaned at the age of four and raised by her showgirl sister. Upon quitting school a decade later, she began dancing in local speakeasies and at the age of 15 became a Ziegfeld chorus girl. In 1926, Stanwyck made her Broadway debut in The Noose, becoming a major stage star in her next production, Burlesque. MGM requested a screen test, but she rejected the offer. She did, however, agree to a supporting role in 1927's Broadway Nights, and after completing her stage run in 1929 appeared in the drama The Locked Door. With her husband, comedian Frank Fay, Stanwyck traveled to Hollywood. After unsuccessfully testing at Warner Bros., she appeared in Columbia's low-budget Mexicali Rose, followed in 1930 by Capra's Ladies of Leisure, the picture which shot her to stardom. A long-term Columbia contract was the result, and the studio soon loaned Stanwyck to Warners for 1931's Illicit. It was a hit, as was the follow-up Ten Cents a Dance. Reviewers were quite taken with her, and with a series of successful pictures under her belt, she sued Columbia for a bigger salary; a deal was struck to share her with Warners, and she split her time between the two studios for pictures including Miracle Woman, Night Nurse, and Forbidden, a major hit which established her among the most popular actresses in Hollywood. Over the course of films like 1932's Shopworn, Ladies They Talk About, and Baby Face, Stanwyck developed an image as a working girl, tough-minded and often amoral, rarely meeting a happy ending; melodramas including 1934's Gambling Lady and the following year's The Woman in Red further established the persona, and in Red Salute she even appeared as a student flirting with communism. Signing with RKO, Stanwyck starred as Annie Oakley; however, her contract with the studio was non-exclusive, and she also entered into a series of multi-picture deals with the likes of Fox (1936's A Message to Garcia) and MGM (His Brother's Wife, co-starring Robert Taylor, whom she later married).

Customer Reviews

Great Movie... Lousey Transfer
In itself "Meet John Doe" Is a warm, witty, and heartwarming story of two people who find paths cross because of a ruthless politician. This particular format from "Alpha Video Distributors" is the worst ever!! The picture looks as if if was transferred from a very bad copy of a copy of a copy of a video, with all the bad, scratches, no sharpness, washed out picture & jittery sound. I guess you get what you pay for! It's enough to make me not want to watch this dvd as it hurts my eyes and ears.

"Baseball's My Racket and I'm Stickin' To It"
"I've been lonely and hungry for something practically all my life."
Long John Willoughby

This Frank Capra film, unlike others he had made, leaned more towards drama than humor. Though there is humor, and many charming moments involving Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck, the tone of the Robert Riskin screenplay, based on a story by Richard Connell and Robert Presnell, has more serious implications than Capra's other films. For that reason, and perhaps because the prints of this film are not as good as the others, "Meet John Doe" sometimes gets unfairly dismissed when Capra's films are discussed. This was the meat in what many call "Capracorn."

Barbara Stanwyck is Ann Mitchell, a reporter soon to be unemployed when her paper is gobbled up by D.B. Norton (Edward Arnold). Desparate to keep the thirty dollar a week salary that keeps her two young sisters and her mom (Spring Byington) afloat, she begs editor Henry Connell (James Gleason) for her job back, but her plea falls on deaf ears. She exits with a column that's a real doozy, pretending she has received a letter from a "John Doe" who, because of the injustice in the world, the state of civilization, and the downtrodden, plans to kill himself at Christmas.

A groundswell of support for John Doe gets Ann her job back, but now she and boss Connell must find a "John Doe." In walks Long John Willoughby (Gary Cooper), a hungry baseball player with a bad wing. He and his pal, Colonel (Walter Brennan), are just hungry enough to play along. Colonel has reservations from the get-go, however, afraid that Long Johm will become a helot--a guy with a bank account.

Long John just wants to earn enough to get the arm he injured pitching a 19 inning game fixed by Bonesetter Brown, but his shy affection for Ann keeps him around long enough to make a radio speech, written from words in her father's diary. His speach spreads the John Doe movement all across the country. It is the crusty Colonel who sees the train wreck coming, however, and takes off.

Clubs start up everywhere, only the "little" people allowed to join. People start treating their neighbors with kindness, showing the spirit of Christmas on a day-to-day basis. D.B. Norton, however, has political aspirations, and sees a way to twist the movement to fit his ambitions. It is Henry Connell who clues in Long John on what is about to happen, letting the air out of his balloon and shattering his smitten image of Ann, with her chestnut hair and great legs.What follows, as the country discovers John Doe was a fake, will lead Long John to a rooftop overlooking the city on a snowy Christmas night.

Stanwyck is wonderful here, as Ann slowly comes to realize she has found a man like her father but may have helped to destroy him. Cooper is memorable as Long John Willoughby, a shy ball player who realizes he has come to stand for more than he ever could have on the pitching mound. Brennan is his usual great character, looking out for Long John as much as he can.

There are some warm and sentimental moments between Cooper's Long John and Stanwyck's Ann mixed in with the social drama, and some charm as well. Cooper's scene with Ann's mom, whose help he needs to ask her daughter to marry him, has a sweetness to it that is long gone from today's films. And the baseball scene in a hotel room, when they play pretend ball, is a classic.

This is a wonderful film about the little guy that sometimes gets analyzed too much. All Capra was trying to do, was remind people that the first John Doe came a long time ago, and people still weren't listening. This is a film that works best if you forget it is a Frank Capra picture, and just enjoy it on its own merits. It can then be placed proudly beside the director's other classics on your movie shelf.

Somewhat Dated But Still of Value
This film appeared at a time when the United States continued to emerge from the Great Depression amidst fears of what soon became World War Two. Many people distrusted government and capitalism; some felt betrayed by them. Directed by Frank Capra, this film addresses the concerns of the so-called "common" man, a stereotype whom we now call "John Doe." How ironic that the film's hero and heroine, advocates of truth and justice, are frauds. After being fired by her newspaper during an extensive lay-off, Ann Mitchell (Barbara Stanwyck) includes in her final column a letter allegedly sent to by "John Doe" who is so upset about society's mistreatment of "the little people" that, in protest, he plans to jump from the top floor of city hall on Christmas Eve. The bogus letter creates so much interest that Mitchell is kept on to continue writing her column which now focuses entirely on John Doe. Fearful that the hoax will be revealed, the newspaper auditions several men and finally hires "Long John" Willoughby (Gary Cooper) to claim he is John Doe. Willoughby is a former baseball player with a dead arm who had been riding the rails with The Colonel (Walter Brennan). Once hired, Willoughby soon becomes totally caught up in the role he plays. His eloquence (expressing what Mitchell has given him to say) and apparent sincerity inspire what becomes the National John Doe Movement, with local chapters throughout the United States. What Willoughby doesn't know and Mitchell does not fully realize is that D.B. Norton (Edward Arnold), publisher of the newspaper, is funding the Movement (e.g. buying radio time for John Doe to promote his "Golden Rule" philosophy) to build a wide and deep base of popular support for his own (Norton's) Presidential campaign. Norton views with contempt precisely the same people who are attracted to John Doe, unknowingly serving as the political equivalent of a Trojan horse.

Despite all the positive values which Capra so passionately affirms, this is a dark film. Its celebration of The Golden Rule is muted by the fact that, although the principles and objectives of the Movement are admirable, John Doe is a fraud. Also, although Mitchell and others reaffirm their faith in John Doe during the final scene on Christmas Eve atop city hall, there is no reason to think that the Movement can continue. In an earlier scene, Norton's "troops" quickly shut down a Movement rally. I will never forget Doe struggling to be heard, speaking into a microphone after its plug (and his) had been pulled by Norton's quasi fascists. People such as Norton with almost unlimited resources allow such movements only if they pose no threat and/or can be exploited somehow to their own advantage.

Only actors with the skills and temperament of a Cooper and Stanwyck could possibly make the final scene credible, at least temporarily. Of course, we will never know what happened thereafter but Capra has made his point: The world would be a much better place if everyone practiced the Golden Rule. As the example of John Doe suggests, if it is worth dying for, then it is certainly worth living for.