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Meet John Doe

“Meet John Doe” may sound like you are meeting an unidentified dead man on "CSI;" however, don’t let the title fool you, this movie is simply about the worth of the ordinary man.

In an attempt to save her job, Ann Mitchell (Barbara Stanwyck) writes an outrageous letter from a fake “John Doe,” a simple man who has been shut out of the world and let down by the local government, thus he intends to commit suicide by jumping off of the city hall building (which is huge I might add) on Christmas Eve. The whole city is, rightly to be expected, in an uproar that some poor man would dare to exploit his own problems in such a public manner. Citizens' attitudes rage from deeply saddened to intensely enraged. Needless to say, the town is hard pressed for excitement and embraces the story of regular everyday “John Doe.” Ann convinces her boss that this is a great way to get people to buy their gradually perishing paper. There is only one problem with her sneaky little scheme . . . this “John Doe” doesn’t exist. However, before Ann can get her mind to trigger out another scheme – a long line of “John Doe’s” all claiming to have written this letter – which is actually fake – forms outside of her office. Ann decides to take advantage of this opportunity staring her straight in the face. The crew pays a poor, plain, average looking man – a perfect “John Doe” – to pose as the man who had written the letter. The man they snag to play this role is Long John Willoughby (Gary Cooper).

“John Doe” gives a national radio address stating his beliefs and views about the world’s present state. “John Doe” believes the world has not even one ounce of decency left in itself. (If he only knew how much decency the world is lacking now.) He also comments on how much better off everyone would be if they loved their neighbor and went out of their way to be friendly to everyone!

After his radio address, “John Doe” followers spring up all over the country along with “John Doe” clubs spreading like wildfire across the nation. In turn, “John Doe” travels coast-to-coast giving speeches that enforce his ever-popular ideals about getting to know your neighbor and caring for each and every human being. More and more people are drawn to his simple personality and his appeal to the common man, thus leading to a National “John Doe” Convention. The “John Doe” movement is in full swing until a power hungry man, D. B. Norton (Edward Arnold), tries to exploit “John Doe” mania and use it as his own personal ticket to the White House. Unfortunately, dirty politics such as this occur just as much, if not more, in real life as it does in the movies.

This 1941 film with a message of community and decency should cause you to ponder, “What can I do to make someone's day a little better?” – if you pay close attention to the point it is trying to send home. The film, “Meet John Doe,” was filled with wit and intelligent humor just like this quote from the movie, “If it were raining hundred dollar bills outside, you'd be looking for a dime you lost somewhere!” The fast paced humor is amazing and it’s truly a shame that we can’t find it in the majority of movies we watch today.

Written by: Kelcey Bridges

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