Meet John Doe

The meek can only inherit the earth when the John Doe's start loving their neighbours.

After crafting Mr. Deeds Goes to Town and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington for Columbia, Capra quit and made this third film about an average Joe who is thrust into a powerful world where exploitation is high on the agenda. Thus, in true Capra style the story unfolds to a customary flip flop triumph. ​ Ann Mitchell (Barbara Stanwyck) is a struggling journalist who gets fired from her newspaper job by new editor Henry Connell (James Gleason). By way of venting her frustrations she writes in her stinging last article about a man called John Doe who is tired of being pushed around and held back by the big bosses. She finishes the piece by claiming that Doe ...

Anyone else think there is a shade of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) about this? Journalist Ann (Barbara Stanwyck) is shown the door when a new owner decides to sack just about everyone at the paper she works at, but as a parting shot she creates a letter that suggests that a hapless member of the public - one John Doe - is so fed up with his lot that he intends to commit suicide from the city hall on Christmas Eve. The article attracts lots of attention and so she hits on the idea of keeping her job and creating a real person. Enter Gary Cooper, an itinerant man with few prospects, no commitments and an interest in making a quick buck. Immediately, he strikes a chord with the working people of the city and seems to inspire the aspirat...