One from the Vaults: Meet John Doe

One from the Vaults: Meet John Doe

Let's get a few things straight here. This is not the movie where Brad Pitt is death (that's Meet Joe Black), nor is it a movie about the bass player of X. Instead, this is a mostly forgotten Frank Capra movie, which is a pity. Meet John Doe could stand up beside It's a Wonderful Life in production value and has a more cynical political undercurrent. But because it's in the public domain now, it hasn't gotten a proper release, and even the more expensive versions seem to have the same lousy transfer my Dollar Store copy has.

The plot is pretty clever. To save her job, a newspaper advice columnist (Barbara Stanwyck) writes a fake suicide letter signed by John Doe, a man fed up with the current state of the world who plans to jump off a building on Christmas Eve. The public goes into a frenzy, and the newspaper is forced to produce a real-life John Doe. They find him in Gary Cooper, a transient ex-minor league pitcher; pretty soon he's groomed and ready for the media, much to the dismay of his hobo friend the Colonel.

The media goes bonkers over John Doe's first speech, and soon John Doe fan clubs pop up all over the country to "help their fellow man." John begins to buy into his own hype and thinks he's doing a great public service. Nobody gives much thought to the mysterious politician funding the John Doe project until it's too late.

First off, I've got to speculate that Frank Capra had Seasonal Effective Disorder, as this is yet another movie where Christmas and suicide go hand in hand. But (1) I can empathize and (2) this is one of the reasons I dig his movies: somehow they're simultaneously dismal and feel-good.

Even if the script gets into Capra-corny territory at times, the performances are outstanding. I was particularly impressed by Stanwyck's range and Edward Arnold's portrayal of the political mastermind behind the John Doe movement. Again, as a film nerd, the John Doe convention scene floored me. Keep in mind this was before the time of GCI, so those grandstands were literally packed with thousands of people in the pouring rain.

If you're a fan of Capra or classic films in general, it'd be worth your time to hunt this one down. Because of the themes, it'd also make a nice addition to your Christmas movie collection. You can find it with some sleuth action at any place they sell crappy $1 public domain DVDs, like your local Dollar {Store/ Tree/ General} or your drugstore's discount DVD bin.

Buy Meet John Doe on Amazon