Frank Capra's "Meet John Doe" opens with a medley resonating exactly as if every facet of America tried to speak for itself through one universal language which is music, the result is both cheerful and misleading.
Indeed, the first scene establishes the context with an eloquent subtext. A young clerk comes from the new editor manager's office and indicates through playful whistles the employees who're getting fired. The necessity and value of jobs are shown through a cruel irony, notice how no one protests as if it was part of a natural cycle in these Great Depression days and even non-blue collar jobs aren't immune to the ruthless laws of capitalism.
That's for a start, now there would be no story in the status quo, the narrative takes off when one of the ill-fated employees decide to rebel (the typical Capra move: it takes one voice to be raised). As a last act of bravura, she manufactures a letter of protest with the pen-name "John Doe" menacing to throw himself off the city hall building at Christmas eve if nothing's done to help the people. In our 2010's jargon, it's called a buzz.
And it sure does spread the 40s way (word-of-mouth, newspaper and radio) and one thing leading to another, Anne (Barbara Stanwyck) gets her job back with higher wages and convinces her boss to counter-attack the accusations of fakery by hiring a man who'd pretend to be John Doe. They find in Long John Willoughby the perfect average Joe, played by the always endearing Gary Cooper. John's a former baseball player whose career was cut short after an arm injury and whose life spiraled into poverty.
Cooper plays his usual reliable and dependable average Joe, but I didn't remember how lively and captivating he was. After watching his "Sergeant York" and "Pride of the Yankees", I'm surprised he wasn't nominated for that performance. Cooper plays a normal fellow who enjoys this sudden rush of wealth and splendor and who doesn't grasp the malicious intents of his advisers... not out of naivety but from a firm belief that they're acting for the best. There are also growing feelings toward Anne, but thankfully, the romance is never played out too loud (though the film has one or two sentimental moment too many).
Anyway, there are three characters who stand for their beliefs all through the films. John Doe and his sidekick (played by scene-stealing Walter Brennan) who enjoys the idleness of a life that doesn't hinge on any financial enslavement, his speech about the 'heelots' is still oddly relevant and I'm surprised that Capra could insert such a thought-provoking monologue in a film supposed to embrace all-American values. But perhaps behind this defiance toward the system, lies the failure of politicians to be entrusted by the people.
As D.P. Norton, Edward Arnold embodies that ordinary selfishness. The actor doesn't overplay the corrupt aspect as if lying and deception were a second nature, as if actually, there's no betrayal to blame on politicians because it's part of their plans, and we make a wrong diagnosis by labeling their policies as "failures". The clever foreshadowing of Norton's true nature comes from his interest toward the 'John Doe' concept and then his positive reaction from Anne's answer "for money" when she was asked about her motives. Money is a word that hits a chord, the man can buy power and he quickly understands that John Doe is the horse on which he should bet.
It all comes down to the central character of Anne who swims in different waters and has built a project that went beyond her own control. It just works too well and many average Joes join John's protests against the political corruption. The momentum is so great that there's room for a third political party but the man who pulls the strings is Norton and turns it into a 'grassroots' campaign. Anne's arc comes full closed when she realizes that she was as much a puppet as John, only with a higher price. She discovered at her own expenses that capitalism didn't exert its influence for the welfare of people but just as a never-ending cycle between money and power.
Interestingly, the boss who fired her in the first place, revealed himself to be a softer heart, and tells John about the scam. And I think "Meet John Doe" does more for patriotism than another flag-raising movie of the same year "Sergeant York", and it's as biting a social commentary as "Citizen Kane". Much more it's an interesting case of a story that can speak a thousand words and provide that epic vibe with just a clever use of editing and montage of newspapers, reaction shots and sign-brandishing shots. Capra proved to be a master storyteller in a territory he made his own with "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" and "Mr Smith Goes to Washington".
One was a lighthearted comedy, the second a drama, "Meet John Doe" starting like the former, evolving like the latter could have metamorphosed its narrative in a strikingly dramatic way to end with the overdue Christic climax, faithful to the spirit of the original story from Robert Presnell Jr. The current ending might be your typical Frank Capra's restoration of faith in mankind with the bells ringing (literally) and hearts singing "Alleluia" but it seemed to belong to another movie, so far from the level of grittiness and sharpness displayed before.
It has left a strong impact on me when I first saw it some ten years ago. I wasn't then the movie buff I am today, but I was underwhelmed by the conclusion, something was artificially fabricated to generate a happy ending that it failed to connect with the whole dynamics it was building up to that point. In other words, John Willoughby had to die. It would have been a rather tragic ending but with enough meaningfulness to seed bittersweet feelings and the sensation that things might get better.
Indeed, the first scene establishes the context with an eloquent subtext. A young clerk comes from the new editor manager's office and indicates through playful whistles the employees who're getting fired. The necessity and value of jobs are shown through a cruel irony, notice how no one protests as if it was part of a natural cycle in these Great Depression days and even non-blue collar jobs aren't immune to the ruthless laws of capitalism.
That's for a start, now there would be no story in the status quo, the narrative takes off when one of the ill-fated employees decide to rebel (the typical Capra move: it takes one voice to be raised). As a last act of bravura, she manufactures a letter of protest with the pen-name "John Doe" menacing to throw himself off the city hall building at Christmas eve if nothing's done to help the people. In our 2010's jargon, it's called a buzz.
And it sure does spread the 40s way (word-of-mouth, newspaper and radio) and one thing leading to another, Anne (Barbara Stanwyck) gets her job back with higher wages and convinces her boss to counter-attack the accusations of fakery by hiring a man who'd pretend to be John Doe. They find in Long John Willoughby the perfect average Joe, played by the always endearing Gary Cooper. John's a former baseball player whose career was cut short after an arm injury and whose life spiraled into poverty.
Cooper plays his usual reliable and dependable average Joe, but I didn't remember how lively and captivating he was. After watching his "Sergeant York" and "Pride of the Yankees", I'm surprised he wasn't nominated for that performance. Cooper plays a normal fellow who enjoys this sudden rush of wealth and splendor and who doesn't grasp the malicious intents of his advisers... not out of naivety but from a firm belief that they're acting for the best. There are also growing feelings toward Anne, but thankfully, the romance is never played out too loud (though the film has one or two sentimental moment too many).
Anyway, there are three characters who stand for their beliefs all through the films. John Doe and his sidekick (played by scene-stealing Walter Brennan) who enjoys the idleness of a life that doesn't hinge on any financial enslavement, his speech about the 'heelots' is still oddly relevant and I'm surprised that Capra could insert such a thought-provoking monologue in a film supposed to embrace all-American values. But perhaps behind this defiance toward the system, lies the failure of politicians to be entrusted by the people.
As D.P. Norton, Edward Arnold embodies that ordinary selfishness. The actor doesn't overplay the corrupt aspect as if lying and deception were a second nature, as if actually, there's no betrayal to blame on politicians because it's part of their plans, and we make a wrong diagnosis by labeling their policies as "failures". The clever foreshadowing of Norton's true nature comes from his interest toward the 'John Doe' concept and then his positive reaction from Anne's answer "for money" when she was asked about her motives. Money is a word that hits a chord, the man can buy power and he quickly understands that John Doe is the horse on which he should bet.
It all comes down to the central character of Anne who swims in different waters and has built a project that went beyond her own control. It just works too well and many average Joes join John's protests against the political corruption. The momentum is so great that there's room for a third political party but the man who pulls the strings is Norton and turns it into a 'grassroots' campaign. Anne's arc comes full closed when she realizes that she was as much a puppet as John, only with a higher price. She discovered at her own expenses that capitalism didn't exert its influence for the welfare of people but just as a never-ending cycle between money and power.
Interestingly, the boss who fired her in the first place, revealed himself to be a softer heart, and tells John about the scam. And I think "Meet John Doe" does more for patriotism than another flag-raising movie of the same year "Sergeant York", and it's as biting a social commentary as "Citizen Kane". Much more it's an interesting case of a story that can speak a thousand words and provide that epic vibe with just a clever use of editing and montage of newspapers, reaction shots and sign-brandishing shots. Capra proved to be a master storyteller in a territory he made his own with "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" and "Mr Smith Goes to Washington".
One was a lighthearted comedy, the second a drama, "Meet John Doe" starting like the former, evolving like the latter could have metamorphosed its narrative in a strikingly dramatic way to end with the overdue Christic climax, faithful to the spirit of the original story from Robert Presnell Jr. The current ending might be your typical Frank Capra's restoration of faith in mankind with the bells ringing (literally) and hearts singing "Alleluia" but it seemed to belong to another movie, so far from the level of grittiness and sharpness displayed before.
It has left a strong impact on me when I first saw it some ten years ago. I wasn't then the movie buff I am today, but I was underwhelmed by the conclusion, something was artificially fabricated to generate a happy ending that it failed to connect with the whole dynamics it was building up to that point. In other words, John Willoughby had to die. It would have been a rather tragic ending but with enough meaningfulness to seed bittersweet feelings and the sensation that things might get better.