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Meet John Doe Overview:

Meet John Doe (1941) was a Comedy - Drama Film directed by Frank Capra and produced by Frank Capra.

The film was based on the short story A Reputation written by Richard Connell published in Century Magazine in Aug 1922.

SYNOPSIS

With Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), this is Capra's third Depression-era parable illustrating the decency of the common man triumphing over cynicism, big money influence, and power. A suicidal down-and-outer, "John Doe" (Cooper), is manipulated by an ambitious politician (Arnold) and a newspaper writer (Stanwyck) to appeal to the masses, only to discover too late the nature of the deception. Capra and frequent collaborator Riskin's ode to populism once again makes its points with well-drawn characters, wonderful performances, and a number of powerful scenes, including a giant rally in the rain where Cooper is denounced as a fraud.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Academy Awards 1941 --- Ceremony Number 14 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best WritingRichard Connell, Robert PresnellNominated
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Meet John Doe BlogHub Articles:

Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper in “Meet John Doe”

By Stephen Reginald on Sep 16, 2021 From Classic Movie Man

Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper in “Meet John Doe” Meet John Doe (1941) is a comedy-drama directed by Frank Capra and starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. The screenplay is by frequent Capra collaborator, Robert Riskin. The cinematography is by George Barnes (Rebecca) and the... Read full article

What’s Streaming in May on the CMH Channel at Best Classics Ever? Angel and the Badman, Meet John Doe and Cheating Blondes

By Annmarie Gatti on May 2, 2021 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

Our May Picks on the Classic Movie Hub ChannelMay Birthdays and Mysterious Mayhem! Here we go… This month’s free streaming picks for our Classic Movie Hub Channel at Best Classics Ever (BCE) – the mega streaming channel for classic movies and TV shows! That said, here are some of our May... Read full article

Meet John Doe (1941, Frank Capra)

By Andrew Wickliffe on Jan 19, 2016 From The Stop Button

There’s something off with Meet John Doe. Director Capra can’t find a tone for the film, but he also can’t find a pace for it. He tries to find the tone, over and over, usually with excellently directed sequences, but he just throws up his hands as far as finding the pace. If Rober... Read full article

Meet John Doe (1941, Frank Capra)

By Andrew Wickliffe on Jan 19, 2016 From The Stop Button

There’s something off with Meet John Doe. Director Capra can’t find a tone for the film, but he also can’t find a pace for it. He tries to find the tone, over and over, usually with excellently directed sequences, but he just throws up his hands as far as finding the pace. If Rober... Read full article

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Meet John Doe Quotes:

The Colonel: I've seen guys like you before. Guys that never had to worry. Then they get a hold of some dough and go goofy.
D. B. Norton: You'll play your cards right and you'll never have to worry about money again.
Ann: [Ann is pleading with John not to commit suicide] Please don't give up. We'll start all over again. Just you and I. It isn't too late. The John Doe movement isn't dead yet. You see, John, it isn't dead or they wouldn't be here. It's alive in them. They kept it alive by being afraid. That's why they came up here. Oh, darling!... We can start clean now. Just you and I. It'll grow John, and it'll grow big because it'll be honest this time. Oh, John, if it's worth dying for, it's worth living for. Oh please, John... You wanna be honest, don't ya? Well, you don't have to die to keep the John Doe ideal alive. Someone already died for that once. The first John Doe. And he's kept that ideal alive for nearly 2,000 years. It was He who kept it alive in them. And He'll go on keeping it alive for ever and always - for every John Doe movement these men kill, a new one will be born. That's why those bells are ringing, John. They're calling to us, not to give up but to keep on fighting, to keep on pitching. Oh, don't you see darling? This is no time to give up. You and I, John, we... Oh, no, no, John. If you die, I want to die too. Oh, oh, I love you.
Mayor Hawkins: Why, Bert. I feel slighted. I'd like to join, but nobody asked me.
Sourpuss Smithers: I'm sorry, Mayor, but we voted that no politician could join.
Mrs. Hansen: Just the John Does of the neighborhood because you know how politicians are.
Mayor Hawkins: O.K. folks, but remember your manners. No stampeding. Walk slow, like you do when you come to pay your taxes.
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Meet John Doe Facts
The tune that the main characters constantly play on their sweet potatoes is "Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee (An Actor's Life for Me)" from Pinocchio
Regarding the 'sweet potatoes' that Gary Cooper and Walter Brennan play, in addition to "Hi Diddle Dee Dee (An Actor's Life For Me)", from "Pinocchio": Brennan alone plays this on an ocarina (sweet potato), but Cooper plays a small harmonica. The tune they play as a duet, while Barbara Stanwyck is interviewing them, is The "William Tell Overture, Finale" by Rossini (The Lone Ranger Theme). Cooper explains the reason Brennan likes him is that they both play 'Doohickeys'.
The first film Frank Capra produced independent of the Hollywood studios.
Frank Capra didn't want anyone to play John Doe except Gary Cooper, who agreed to the part (without reading a script) for two reasons: he had enjoyed working with Capra on Mr. Deeds Goes to Town and he wanted to work with Barbara Stanwyck.
Director Frank Capra tested the film in different areas of the US with four different endings to determine which one to keep. In one, John Willoughby commits suicide. In another, Ann Mitchell persuades him not to leap from City Hall. Inspired by a letter signed "John Doe," Capra filmed a fifth and final ending in which Mitchell talks some sense into Willoughby and then faints into his arms.
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