Meet John Doe

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Meet John Doe

Released May 3, 1941

2h 3m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

24 Reviews

82%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

A reporter writes a fictitious column about a man named John Doe, who claims to despair at America's neglect of the little people and plans to kill himself. To maintain the ruse, the newspaper hires a ballplayer-turned-hobo to pose as John Doe.

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Cooper and Stanwyck are entirely watchable, even if the plot grows artistically flagrant and thematically hollow, culminating in a final media ruse that is thoroughly farfetched.

Rated: 6/10

Jul 20, 2024

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Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

Frank Capra was fond of speeches - and Meet John Doe is stuffed with them.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 11, 2022

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Meet John Doe is perhaps Capra's most self-reflective film.

Rated: 4/4

Feb 14, 2022

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John Kinloch

California Eagle

A smooth. Capracareful film replete with social preachment and a magnificent portrayal by Gary Cooper.

Oct 31, 2019

Full Review

Elena de la Torre

Cine-Mundial

The movie is superb, dynamic, masterful. [Full review in Spanish]

Sep 17, 2019

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Leslie Combemale

Cinema Siren

Like Stewart's Mr. Smith, Gary Cooper's acting choices, while more subtle than Stewart, deeply connect you with his character's plight and therefore solidly hook you into hopes for his happy ending, his redemption.

Jul 25, 2019

Full Review

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Sam N

Meet John Doe is Frank Capra at his most cloying—an unbearable syrup-fest of moralising, sentimentality, and a plodding Gary Cooper I couldn’t wait for it to end.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

12/04/24

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Micah H

People call Frank Capra’s films “warm and fuzzy”. Although he has hopeful endings, his films deal with dark subjects. Meet John Doe is about suicide and the barrier of lies created by the media. It charges at hard topics, but ends with the idea that goodness will prevail.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/27/24

Full Review

Laura L

I watched Meet John Doe tonight. I watched it as a Christmas movie. What a surprise to find that it is so much more. Seventy years ago, people were feeling disconnected just as we are today. What began as a sensational story began a movement. It was basically a Love Thy Neighbor movement. This is something that we are sorely in need of today in America and around the world. I highly recommend watching this movie. Then, go, love your neighbor as you love yourself. Be blessed, Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/20/24

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Alberto Q

Frank Capra's lesser-known Christmas classic. If you haven't seen it or haven't seen in a while, give it a watch. It's always worth it.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/03/23

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Steve D

Too sentimental and preachy to work anymore. I used to love it.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

05/26/23

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ed m

Another Capra classic. Who's better than Barbara Stanwyck?

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/17/23

Full Review

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Synopsis

A reporter writes a fictitious column about a man named John Doe, who claims to despair at America's neglect of the little people and plans to kill himself. To maintain the ruse, the newspaper hires a ballplayer-turned-hobo to pose as John Doe.

Director: Frank Capra
Producer: Frank Capra
Screenwriter: Richard Connell, Robert Riskin
Distributor: Madacy Entertainment Group Inc. [us], Warner Bros., Reel Media International [us], Take 2 Video, Hollywood Classics
Production Co: Frank Capra Productions
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 3, 1941, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 26, 2011
Runtime: 2h 3m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: 35mm, Flat (1.37:1)

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