Frank Capra was fond of speeches – and Meet John Doe is stuffed with them. Written by Robert Riskin and directed by Capra, the movie begins with a newspaper stunt, in which desperate columnist Ann Mitchell (Barbara Stanwyck) invents an unemployed, disaffected man who writes a letter threatening to take his own life. When the down-on-his-luck, former baseball prodigy she hires to impersonate this “John Doe” (Gary Cooper) strikes a chord with readers, a populist political movement begins to take shape, one that the newspaper’s power-hungry publisher (Edward Arnold) tries to manipulate. Walter Brennan, as Cooper’s skeptical traveling companion, gives a speech about the enslavement of consumerism; a soda jerk (Regis Toomey) testifies, at great length, about how starting a “John Doe club” revitalized his community; an editor (James Gleason) drunkenly explains the nature of true patriotism; and Stanwyck herself delivers a climactic, life-saving, romantic plea. Then there are Cooper’s frequent orations, written by Ann but delivered by “John” with unabashed earnestness. So, yes, Meet John Doe is “talky” (if politically astute). That—along with a fairly inert romance between Stanwyck and Cooper—counts against it. But the cast commits with full hearts, especially Cooper, who creates a character both silly (there’s some great physical comedy in his reactions to being put up in a posh hotel room) and sincere (I’d love to watch Cooper and James Stewart filibuster each other).
(8/10/22)
