Capracorn it may be but it's still hard to resist this anti-fascist message simply because of the sheer professionalism on display from all departments beginning, of course, with the screenplay. Arguably Robert Riskin's finest hour was when - smarting from all the PR that spoke of the 'Capra touch' whilst completely ignoring the screenplays - he marched into Capra's office, tossed an unopened box of typing paper on the director's desk and said 'let's see you put the Capra touch on THAT', but this screenplay, like most of the others he supplied Capra with, is solidly constructed albeit manipulative, so that actors like Cooper, Stanwyck, Gleason, Brennan, Arnold, Byington, and the rest, could more or less have phoned it in. Working as an ensemble they add a high gloss to what boils down to little more than a sampler,love thy neighbour, but, as someone probably said, it's not the arrival, it's the journey, and this is a swell trip.
Review of Meet John Doe
