There is so much said about this film. It involves what proves to be a big time publicity stunt. John Doe, of course, is everyman. He has the best of intentions, but he soon gets caught up in a tidal wave of attention where his simple message is overwhelmed by quickly converted. It is mindful of the Christians who live their religion on their sleeves and only practice it for one hour on Sunday morning. These are some of the people who are quick to turn on their brothers and sisters without a thought. John is a sincere, thoughtful man, who is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for his own integrity, to follow through with his promise. The fact of the matter is that once this act takes place, those who were yammering for his head would go home and think, "Boy, he was a crazy guy!" This is an excellent film. I wonder what Frank Capra would think of the world today.

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.

As Captain Sisko in "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" put it in an episode "Beyond the Stars" "You can take away the story, but you can't destroy the idea, it exists in my mind, it's ancient knowledge, it's real." That's how I feel about ideas, to me their as real as the air we breathe, they are what drive us, keep us alive, and are capable of making differences in a person, people, a small or big portion of the world. This believe or not is my favorite film from Frank Capera.Like in most of his films there the kind that really speak to me and just give me a good feeling inside which I don't get nearly enough of which is part of what makes them timeless. You can also say this film is also kinda a Christian film since like most of his films have themes on selflessness as well as a Christian like protagonist whom like most have to endure a lot of hardship before triumph.I like the story, it's true it's kinda far fetched but I just rolled with it. To me like with most of Capra's films what really drove it are the characters and what they do.I really like the protagonist John Doe played well by Gary Cooper. You really do feel a heavy sense of pathos for the guy, because of how human he feels. At first when he takes this job on, he doing it for survival which is the money. Though I wouldn't say it's a totally selfish reason since he wanted that money to also help his friend. But also just simply as an opportunity for another chance, the guy isn't a bum as he stated he use to be a star ball player but as time went on has ran into hard times. But of course as he goes along with the role of playing a guy that doesn't really exist, as things grow he begins to realize the importance of what has been created as well as feel a sense of guilt over having to lie in order to retain hope for everyone but is still willing to admit the truth about himself. That I personally feel makes him a true hero and the real deal, willingness to revoke his title which shows he's not selfish but truly selfless.When we see John go though that as corrupt corporations rear their ugly head to destroy his character which they do, it just made me feel all the more pathos for him and hope he wins. He wasn't harming anyone but to some ideas are a threat because they evoke certain changes their selfish ambitions don't agree with. One really profound moments with John are the speech he gives the corporates which I thought was great, it says that people with ideas exist and it doesn't matter how many are struck down their will always be another or many.I even like the chemistry between both John and Ann Mitchell(Barbra Standwick) so this film is another one of the romance stories I like because they actually work. I thought it was believable because both had genuine interaction time, one of my favorite scenes is when John tells a story about his family to Ann which I found very touching because it shows that John truly does have a soul and isn't nobody. I even like the Ann character who is also human and whom was the one that created the whole John Doe phenomenon; her character I don't feel is a bad guy her head at first is just in the wrong place. At first when she created it it was simply for survival since she was being let go of, she needed a hot story fast to retain her career. Though I wouldn't say it was totally selfish since the paper she works for was going under so it was a way to keep them in business. But as the phenomenon grows she also grows a conscious about the whole thing realizes it's importance as well as ethical boundaries broken to keep it alive but the effect it would have on John which makes her concerned for his life. This just all the more makes us hope she might find some redemption for herself but also hope John can forgive her.To me the message is about ideas and dreams can never be destroyed, as long as good people, belief, and hope exists, ideas will always be fruitful and multiply.John Doe isn't a nobody, he is a somebody because he is everybody.Rating: 4 stars

I like Frank Capra's films a lot, my favourites being It's a Wonderful Life and Mr Smith goes to Washington. Meet John Doe is not quite a classic for me, but it is still very good. Some of the characters could have done with more colour and the film's messages and warnings while appropriate and relevant do have a tendency to preach. That said, it is gorgeously filmed, Dmitri Tiomkin's score is outstanding, the dialogue is funny, touching and intelligent and the story is moving while having a dark centre to it. Capra does a solid job directing, while there is a divine cast with Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyk and Edward Arnold particularly outstanding. In conclusion, very good if not quite a classic. 8/10 Bethany Cox