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IMDbPro

Meet John Doe

  • 19411941
  • PassedPassed
  • 2h 2m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
14K
YOUR RATING
Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck in Meet John Doe (1941)
A man needing money agrees to impersonate a non-existent person who said he'd be committing suicide as a protest, and a political movement begins.
Play trailer2:39
1 Video
99+ Photos
  • Comedy
  • Drama
  • Romance
A penniless drifter (Gary Cooper) is recruited by an ambitious columnist (Barbara Stanwyck) to impersonate a non-existent person who said he'd be committing suicide as a protest, and a socia... Read allA penniless drifter (Gary Cooper) is recruited by an ambitious columnist (Barbara Stanwyck) to impersonate a non-existent person who said he'd be committing suicide as a protest, and a social movement begins.A penniless drifter (Gary Cooper) is recruited by an ambitious columnist (Barbara Stanwyck) to impersonate a non-existent person who said he'd be committing suicide as a protest, and a social movement begins.
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
14K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Frank Capra
  • Writers
    • Richard Connell(based on a story by)
    • Robert Presnell Sr.(based on a story by)
    • Robert Riskin(screen play)
  • Stars
    • Gary Cooper
    • Barbara Stanwyck
    • Edward Arnold
Top credits
  • Director
    • Frank Capra
  • Writers
    • Richard Connell(based on a story by)
    • Robert Presnell Sr.(based on a story by)
    • Robert Riskin(screen play)
  • Stars
    • Gary Cooper
    • Barbara Stanwyck
    • Edward Arnold
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 111User reviews
    • 53Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 1 win & 1 nomination total

    Videos1

    Original Trailer
    Trailer 2:39
    Original Trailer

    Photos114

    Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck Meet John Doe (1941) 0033891
    Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck in Meet John Doe (1941)
    Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck in Meet John Doe (1941)
    Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, and James Gleason in Meet John Doe (1941)
    Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck in Meet John Doe (1941)
    Pat Flaherty in Meet John Doe (1941)
    Charles R. Moore in Meet John Doe (1941)
    Walter Soderling in Meet John Doe (1941)
    Gary Cooper and Cyril Thornton in Meet John Doe (1941)
    Barbara Stanwyck and Charles C. Wilson in Meet John Doe (1941)
    Charles C. Wilson in Meet John Doe (1941)
    Edward Keane in Meet John Doe (1941)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Gary Cooper
    Gary Cooper
    • 'Long John' Willoughby
    Barbara Stanwyck
    Barbara Stanwyck
    • Ann Mitchell
    Edward Arnold
    Edward Arnold
    • D.B. Norton
    Walter Brennan
    Walter Brennan
    • The 'Colonel'
    Spring Byington
    Spring Byington
    • Mrs. Mitchell
    James Gleason
    James Gleason
    • Henry Connell
    Gene Lockhart
    Gene Lockhart
    • Mayor Lovett
    Rod La Rocque
    Rod La Rocque
    • Ted Sheldon
    Irving Bacon
    Irving Bacon
    • Beany
    Regis Toomey
    Regis Toomey
    • Bert Hansen
    J. Farrell MacDonald
    J. Farrell MacDonald
    • 'Sourpuss' Smithers
    Warren Hymer
    Warren Hymer
    • Angelface
    Harry Holman
    Harry Holman
    • Mayor Hawkins
    Andrew Tombes
    Andrew Tombes
    • Spencer
    Pierre Watkin
    Pierre Watkin
    • Hammett
    Stanley Andrews
    Stanley Andrews
    • Weston
    Mitchell Lewis
    Mitchell Lewis
    • Bennett
    Charles C. Wilson
    Charles C. Wilson
    • Charlie Dawson
    • (as Charles Wilson)
    • Director
      • Frank Capra
    • Writers
      • Richard Connell(based on a story by)
      • Robert Presnell Sr.(based on a story by)
      • Robert Riskin(screen play)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      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 (1936) and he wanted to work with Barbara Stanwyck.
    • Goofs
      After "John Doe" intrudes on D. B. Norton's dinner party and tells him off, Norton calls his newspaper and orders a special edition which will reveal Doe as a fraud. Doe takes a cab from Norton's house directly to the convention hall. Within minutes of his arrival there, a horde of newsboys appear with copies of the newspaper. It would be impossible to print an extra edition in such a short period of time.
    • Quotes

      Beany: What's a helot?

      The Colonel: You've ever been broke, sonny?

      Beany: Sure, mostly often.

      The Colonel: All right. You're walking along, not a nickel in your jeans, your free as the wind, nobody bothers ya. Hundreds of people pass you by in every line of business: shoes, hats, automobiles, radios, everything, and there all nice lovable people and they lets you alone, is that right? Then you get a hold of some dough and what happens, all those nice sweet lovable people become helots, a lotta heels. They begin to creep up on ya, trying to sell ya something: they get long claws and they get a stranglehold on ya, and you squirm and you duck and you holler and you try to push them away but you haven't got the chance. They gots ya. First thing ya know you own things, a car for instance, now your whole life is messed up with alot more stuff: you get license fees and number plates and gas and oil and taxes and insurance and identification cards and letters and bills and flat tires and dents and traffic tickets and motorcycle cops and tickets and courtrooms and lawers and fines and... a million and one other things. What happens? You're not the free and happy guy you used to be. You need to have money to pay for all those things, so you go after what the other fellas got. There you are, you're a helot yourself.

    • Alternate versions
      Also available in a computer-colorized version.
    • Connections
      Featured in The 54th Annual Academy Awards (1982)
    • Soundtracks
      THE BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC
      (1861) (uncredited)

      Music by William Steffe

      Lyrics by Julia Ward Howe

      Performed by Hall Johnson Choir

    User reviews111

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    The third film in Capra's unofficial trilogy is darkly wonderful.
    After doing Mr Deeds Goes To Town and Mr Smith Goes To Washington for Columbia, Capra quit and made this third film about an average Joe thrust into a powerful world where exploitation is high on the agenda, but in true Capra style the story unfolds to a customary flip flop triumph.

    Ann Mitchell is a struggling journalist who gets fired from her newspaper job by new editor Henry Connell, 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 will commit suicide on Christmas Eve by leaping off the roof of city hall, the public react to the letter with tremendous heart and Doe becomes a champion of the people.

    After Connell gets interested in the letter Ann has to confess that she made it up, they hatch a plan to turn a real unemployed drop out into John Doe so as to continue the story and sell more papers, and of course Ann gets to keep her job. This brings in ex minor league pitcher Long John Willoughby, who is down on his luck and very short of cash, and this is when the story shifts from amiable comedy on to a much darker path, the result making for a riveting watch.

    Whilst not being up with the best Capra films in his armoury, it is, however, one of his smartest. The portrayal of the human spirit in many guises is stark and poignant, whilst thematically Capra got his point over about the unsavoury elements blossoming in America. The cast are nailed on watchable, Gary Cooper is John Doe, the right amount of sympathy and guts is garnered from his performance, and in one rousing speech he has the viewers in the palm of his hand. Barbara Stanwyck is Ann Mitchell and she delivers a great turn that calls for a number of emotions to be performed convincingly, while the support cast are all solid with the stand out a bizarrely unnerving Edward Arnold as D B. Norton; a man wishing to be a dictator if ever there was one. 10/10
    helpful•22
    3
    • hitchcockthelegend
    • Mar 4, 2008

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 3, 1941 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Frank Capra's 'Meet John Doe'
    • Filming locations
      • Wrigley Field - 42nd Place & Avalon Blvd., Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Frank Capra Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 2 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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