A Frank Capra classic, Meet John Doe is an inspiring (though a bit heavy handed) populist film. After a newspaper prints a fraudulent open letter from a concerned citizen calling himself “John Doe” promising to commit suicide on Christmas Eve to protest the state of society the newspaper hires a bum off the streets to be John Doe and he soon becomes the spokesperson for a movement. Gary Cooper and Barbra Stanwyck lead the cast and give solid performance. However the script gets a little preachy with several lengthy monologues about patriotism, the power and worth of the common man, and being a kinder society. And it’s a real stretch to believe that the platitudes that John Doe gives would inspire such a large movement as devoted and passionate as the one depicted. Yet even with its problems, Meet John Doe is an entertaining film with a positive message that’s still remarkably relevant, sadly.

Made in the wake of the Great Depression and released 9 months before Pearl Harbor, this film is a testament to how the rich have always and continue to manipulate the average John Doe. Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck are fantastic. The film cuts are a little off, but we notice that stuff now because anyone with a phone can cut better than the hand cutting of actual film. Frank Capra did a phenomenal job directing, although in all good measure, in reality then and probably now, those rich men would've shoved John Doe off the roof if they already had the cops in their pockets to cover it up. It also speaks volumes to where we're at now, while the vague references in the film are likely to to Ford, Lindenberg, "union bosses" and that rich that made others rich for doing their bidding, we see that same platform of common man being "weakened" by the idea that if they can use it, they will corrupt it and pit people against each other to maintain their money and power. 9.6/10. Based on the era of film making pre-WWII.

Acid critic of the North American society of the middle of the century.