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Meet John Doe (1941)
Director: Frank Capra
Writers: Richard Connell (story), Robert Presnell (story) (as Robert Presnell), Robert Riskin (screenplay)
Cast: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward Arnold, Walter Brennan
Genre: Drama
A rich business man with political aspirations, takes over a small newspaper and starts firing people, as he wants to make the paper into headline grabbing sensationalism...After being fired, girl-reporter Ann Mitchell (Barbara Stanwyck) pens a dozy of an editorial from a man who's disillusioned with the economy and the world in general and will kill himself on Christmas Eve by jumping off the roof of City Hall. The fictions man is given the name John Doe. The story sells papers but the other newspapers threaten legal action calling the story a fake, which it is. So to save their hides they find a down and out man vagrant man John Doe (Gary Cooper) and pay him to say he wrote the editorial letter. John Doe sparks a political grass roots movement and soon finds himself with 100,000 of followers, while his boss the corrupt newspaper man seeks to use him for his own political aspirations.
This is one of Frank Capra's signature movies. It never won an Academy Award, but the film has had lasting effects and has never left the public's mind. What makes this film so great is the little man who vs the corrupt political machine and tries to make a difference. The story is constructed in such a way that it remains interesting even today.
Gary Cooper is in fine form here and well suited for his role as John Doe, the reluctant hero and man of the people. And was Barbara Stanwyck ever more lively and charming than here? Together they have real chemistry which makes the movie a joy to watch. Rounding out the cast is a solid group of character actors:
Edward Arnold is the corrupt political boss who buys the news paper to use it for his own means...He's good at playing the heavy, a role he often plays in films. But it's Walter Brennan who steals every scene he's in. And he has an important role as the consciousness of John Doe. When John Doe gets to big for his britches, it's Walter Brennan who reminds him what life is really all about.
Meet John Doe (1941)
Director: Frank Capra
Writers: Richard Connell (story), Robert Presnell (story) (as Robert Presnell), Robert Riskin (screenplay)
Cast: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward Arnold, Walter Brennan
Genre: Drama
A rich business man with political aspirations, takes over a small newspaper and starts firing people, as he wants to make the paper into headline grabbing sensationalism...After being fired, girl-reporter Ann Mitchell (Barbara Stanwyck) pens a dozy of an editorial from a man who's disillusioned with the economy and the world in general and will kill himself on Christmas Eve by jumping off the roof of City Hall. The fictions man is given the name John Doe. The story sells papers but the other newspapers threaten legal action calling the story a fake, which it is. So to save their hides they find a down and out man vagrant man John Doe (Gary Cooper) and pay him to say he wrote the editorial letter. John Doe sparks a political grass roots movement and soon finds himself with 100,000 of followers, while his boss the corrupt newspaper man seeks to use him for his own political aspirations.
This is one of Frank Capra's signature movies. It never won an Academy Award, but the film has had lasting effects and has never left the public's mind. What makes this film so great is the little man who vs the corrupt political machine and tries to make a difference. The story is constructed in such a way that it remains interesting even today.
Gary Cooper is in fine form here and well suited for his role as John Doe, the reluctant hero and man of the people. And was Barbara Stanwyck ever more lively and charming than here? Together they have real chemistry which makes the movie a joy to watch. Rounding out the cast is a solid group of character actors:
Edward Arnold is the corrupt political boss who buys the news paper to use it for his own means...He's good at playing the heavy, a role he often plays in films. But it's Walter Brennan who steals every scene he's in. And he has an important role as the consciousness of John Doe. When John Doe gets to big for his britches, it's Walter Brennan who reminds him what life is really all about.