Meet John Doe

Frank Capra crafts a confused message movie with Meet John Doe (1941). Ostensibly another Capra film extolling political activism, its commentary winds up garbled and nonsensical. Fortunately, it works okay as a straightforward comedy.

Angry reporter Ann Mitchell (Barbara Stanwyck) publishes a letter by a fictional "John Doe" threatening to kill himself protesting social iniquity. The letter proves a popular smash, and publisher D.B. Norton (Edward Arnold) insists on propagating the story to further his political ambitions. Ann selects vagabond John Willoughby (Gary Cooper) to fill the role, and John's plainspoken demeanor proves just the ticket. John's speeches inspire a genuine mass movement, rising Norton to a presidential contender. When John discovers the charade, the whole movement threatens to unravel. 

Capra's earlier populist epics Mr. Deeds Goes to Town and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington play it safe by being apolitical. The movies are cynical about the political establishment but maintain a certain idealism and belief that the common man can change it. By avoiding political designations, Capra won't alienate his audience while pushing home the truism that the system is corrupt: one imagines both Glenn Beck and Michael Moore watching Mr. Smith and envisioning themselves in the lead. 

Meet John Doe is a different kettle of fish. Capra provides the ostensible message is that grassroots movements are swell until co-opted by the establishment. John is sincere enough to believe his message of goodwill and cooperation, but we see Norton's crew organizing John Doe clubs across America. The movement has obvious appeal but it's obvious the System's twisting it for its own benefit. Downplayed, of course, is that the System itself created the movement, or that their actual platform has no substance beyond the brotherhood of man.

It's an observation shrewd in some ways, but also obvious and problematic. Genuine populism in America is virtually non-existent, save extraordinary exceptions like the Civil Rights Movement. Today's Tea Party movement is funded by billionaires like the Koch Brothers, while George Soros bankrolls leftist groups like Code Pink and MoveOn.org. In a country generally apathetic or hostile to activism, joining "the System" is the only way for most movements to get ahead.

For a movie made in 1941, its commentary on mass politics are remarkably tin-eared. Waiting for a rabble-rousing savior, explicitly compared to Christ (!), to deliver us from "the System" invites all sorts of unsavory implications in the era of Fascism in Europe and Father Coughlin in America. Capra tries to fudge this by focusing on John's message, but it scarcely registers when this is vague quasi-socialist gush about "the people." How can it be valid anyway when the message is, to begin with, a fraud? There's a thin line between idealism and demagoguery which Meet John Doe, in all its warm mushiness, is too unsophisticated to delineate.

As a light dramedy, Meet John Doe works fine. Capra and writer Robert Riskin keep a brisk pace, with creative montage work and direction. The movie gets some big laughs, especially John's cynical partner (Walter Brennan) ranting about capitalist "helots" corrupted by creature comforts. The lead romance is appealing, with Cooper and Stanwyck recapturing their chemistry from Ball of Fire. With its appealing stars and clever humor, it will certainly appeal to moviegoers looking for a pleasant evening in.

Gary Cooper turns on his gruff Everyman amiable to full effect here. Barbara Stanwyck is nothing less than charming, mixing sweetness with tough-minded ambition. Walter Brennan steals the show in inimitable fashion, proving an improbable oracle. Edward Arnold, James Gleason and Gene Lockhart occupy colorful supporting roles.

Meet John Doe is entertaining but problematic. Don't give its message overmuch thought and you'll have fun. Groggy isn't the sort of viewer to take films on face value, however.