Meet John Doe

Over half a century since its initial release, Frank Capra's Meet John Doe remains an incredibly powerful motion picture, thanks to not only Capra, but to a great cast and a powerful narrative. But, despite its widespread popularity, Capra was never really satisfied with the ending, which he felt had been dictated by the fact that he and screenwriter Robert Riskin had written themselves into a corner.


With its close parallel to the Christ tale, Meet John Doe practically mandated that Gary Cooper give up his life to resurrect the "John Doe" movement for the sake of all the "little guys" who had put their faith in him. But, the audiences of 1941 wouldn't tolerate a Cooper suicide, and Capra eventually shot six endings before settling on the one seen here. But, the picture was so well received, the New York Critics--who had ignored all of what Capra regarded as his true classics--gave Meet John Doe a coveted spot on their annual "Top Ten" listing. Go Figure. With Meet John Doe, Frank Capra was warning the complacent democracies of the perceived threat of Fascism to his adopted America from both without and within. His warnings initially went unheeded. But only a few months into the release of Meet John Doe, Pearl Harbor had been bombed, America was united, Capra had rushed through the shooting of Arsenic And Old Lace (which had begun December 1, 1941), and was in the Army overseeing the Why We Fight films, the most stunning series of documentaries ever produced.