Meet John Doe

Rating:
Summary: Bonesetter Brown?
Review: Long John Willoghby ( Cooper) is chosen by crass media folk( James Gleason , Barbara Stanwyck) to be an " everyman" that will sell newspapers.

This is a Capra film so what is in the bargain is not always apparent. A John Doe society is started with national appeal by magnate Edward Arnold and friends. Their scheme is to use the John Does to political advantage ( not so far fetched in todays political arena) . In order to prove himself not a fraud, (Cooper) Doe, decides to commit suicide.

The political undertones are here. Comic relief is offered by "The Colonel".... Walter Brennan who calls the rest of them healots. Surely it was difficult to end this film with a satisfactory windup..and it does leave one hanging a bit. However, the sincere acting is worth the time . Pure Capra

Rating:
Summary: Great Movie--BAD copy
Review: The movie (story, actors, actresses, etc) was SUPER! Another great Capra movie but the quality is awful. Don't expect good, clear Turner Classic Movie Channel quality. In some spots the background is so bright you can't even see the faces of the actors. I'm going to buy a good version of this eventually because it is worth the extra money! BUY BETTER QUALITY!!

Rating:
Summary: More Raw Truth from Frank Capra
Review: The story has been dealt with by the other reviewers, so no need to rehash that. An important message in this film, I think , is the manner in which the media honchos (the "Healots," as Walter Brennan's Colonel poetically calls them) seek to manipulate public opinion for their own personal gain. This is partuclarly evident in the climatic scene in which the fatcats "expose" Gary Cooper before Cooper can expose them to the masses. As was the case with "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," this was mighty strong stuff for the 30s and 40s when the masses were taught to trust those in power.

However, my one minor complaint about this film is that Gary Cooper was a tad too wooden for the role. One could easily picture Capra regular Jimmy Stewart with his "aw shucks" persona as the baseball player who is bamboozled (at first) into playing "John Doe."

Rating:
Summary: Capra Through and Through
Review: There's no mistaking the Frank Capra touches in this film. Gary Cooper stars as a nobody hired by a newspaper as part of a stunt to play a man that says he will commit suicide Christmas Eve because he's tired of how people have forgotten each other. Barbara Stanwyck stars as the reporter who cooks up the scheme, but slowly begins to believe the words she is writing and falls in love with the man she helped to create. Politicians want to use his hold over the common people to further their own objectives. And in the middle of it is Cooper, who finds himself trapped as a pawn in a game he can't seem to control. The actors are all fine, with Stanwyck giving an especially impassioned performance. The viewer has to wade through the usual Capra speeches about the importance of the regular Joe/John Doe, and once again it's the little guy against the whole system. Yet the film works, although not quite as well as some of his other films. There's a lot of drama and the ideals set forth are certainly worthy ideals. Capra has a way of tapping into the decency inside all of us.

Rating:
Summary: The best DVD edition of Capra's Classic
Review: This 1941 Frank Capra classic appears to be public domain, for there have been several VHS and DVD editions released by different companies. The Laserlight DVD release is probably your best choice if you want to own a copy of this wonderful movie on video. Whereas some buyers seem to complain about the poor picture quality of, for instance, the Madacy release, I see no reason to complain about this one. The picture may not be so impeccably crisp and clear as one might expect from DVD, since it was evidently not transferred from a print in mint condition, but it is by no means scratched or blotted. At times it seems, indeed, to be very slightly grainy, specially in the first half of the movie, but by and large I'd say it is more than acceptable, unless you're an absolute perfectionist in that respect. The sound is also loud, clear and intelligible, although it of course contains the inevitable imperfections of any old analog recording.

As for the movie itself -- in case you don't know it yet -- though it has been often underrated by some critics, it certainly deserves to be ranked among Capra's masterpieces, along with "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" and "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town". Like those movies, "Meet John Doe" reveals Capra's unswerving faith in democracy and in the essential American virtues, and his conviction that your average everyman can beat the powers of money and corruption if he only believes in those basic values. This same kind of David-versus-Goliath story, in which ordinary people, united, triumph over the rich and powerful, had been indeed a constant in Capra's movies since as early as 1932's "American Madness" (which you shouldn't miss either, if you like this one).

As a bonus, the DVD includes a 30-min documentary on Gary Cooper's career, consisting basically of ten uncut original or re-release theatrical trailers of Cooper's films (including "High Noon", "Pride of the Yankees", "Sergeant York", "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and "Vera Cruz"). The narration is interesting and well-written, though it does not include any information Cooper fans don't already know.

Foreign customers will be glad to know that this is a "region-zero" DVD, which means that it is playable in any of the six reagions, provided that you have a NTSC-compatible player and TV set.

Rating:
Summary: Somewhat Dated But Still of Value
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Uneven melodrama
Review: This Frank Capra film shares many thematic similarities to his masterpiece, "It's A Wonderful Life." There is the loss of faith in idealism, the supportive "true believers" and even the attempted suicide. However, this movie falls far short of "Wonderful Life." The main problem is its uneven tone -- the few comic attempts seem oddly misplaced. Often it attempts to make social commentaries which are far too blatant and far too preachy. Unless you are a serious student of Capra, my suggestion would be to get "Wonderful Life" if you don't already have it. This film was perhaps a "rough draft" for that work.

Rating:
Summary: meet john doe's review
Review: this is one of the most wonderful movies i ever seen this is a very original story and mrs,stanwyck plays an excellent roll the best scene is the one when she declares her love and beg to him not to suicide.

Rating:
Summary: Good - Not Great
Review: This is the second copy of Meet John Doe I've bought (the first was the package "Gary Cooper On Film" by Laserlight. This is the Hal Roach Studios - Image Entertainment version. Why two? I was hoping I'd find a good transfer. While adequate, this isn't good. I'll have to hope someone like Criterion gets around to bringing it out. As for the movie ... well, it's Capra and Cooper. And Barbara Stanwyck. So it's great!

Rating:
Summary: Good - Not Great
Review: This is the second copy of Meet John Doe I've bought (the first was the package "Gary Cooper On Film" by Laserlight. This is the Hal Roach Studios - Image Entertainment version. Why two? I was hoping I'd find a good transfer. While adequate, this isn't good. I'll have to hope someone like Criterion gets around to bringing it out. As for the movie ... well, it's Capra and Cooper. And Barbara Stanwyck. So it's great!