“I’ve been lonely and hungry for something practically all my life.” — Long John Willoughby

This Frank Capra film, more so than his others, was shaded more towards drama than humor. Not without humor or charm, as evidenced in many scenes between Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper, the tone of the Robert Riskin screenplay, based on a story by Richard Connell and Robert Presnell, has more serious implications, however, than Capra's other films. For that reason, and perhaps because many surviving prints of this film are not as good as the others, Meet John Doe sometimes gets unfairly dismissed when films of this extraordinary director are discussed. This was the meat in what many call Capracorn.

Barbara Stanwyck is Ann Mitchell, a reporter soon to be unemployed when her paper is gobbled up by D.B. Norton (Edward Arnold). Desperate to keep the thirty dollar a week salary that keeps her two young sisters and her mom (Spring Byington) afloat, she begs editor Henry Connell (James Gleason) for her job back, but her plea falls on deaf ears. She decides to go out in a blaze, writing a column in which she purports to have received a letter from one John Doe, who, because of the injustice in the world, the state of civilization, and the downtrodden, plans to kill himself at Christmas.

A groundswell of support for Doe gets Ann her job back, but now she and boss Connell must find a 'real' John Doe or their heads will roll. In walks Long John Willoughby (Gary Cooper), a starving baseball player with a bad wing. He and his pal, Colonel (Walter Brennan), are just hungry enough to play along. Colonel has reservations from the get-go, however, afraid that Long John will become a helot — a guy with a bank account. Long John just wants to earn enough to get the arm he injured pitching a 19 inning game fixed by Bonesetter Brown, but his shy affection for Ann keeps him around long enough to make a radio speech. Written from words in her father's diary, his speech spreads the John Doe movement all across the country. But Colonel sees the train wreck coming, and takes off.

Clubs start up everywhere, only the John Does allowed to join. People start treating their neighbors with kindness, showing the spirit of Christmas on a day-to-day basis. D.B. Norton, however, has political aspirations, and sees a way to twist the movement to fit his ambitions. It is Henry Connell who clues in Long John on what is about to happen, letting the air out of his balloon and shattering his smitten image of Ann, with her chestnut hair and great legs. What follows, as the country discovers John Doe was a fake, will lead Long John to a rooftop overlooking the city on a snowy Christmas night.

Stanwyck is wonderful here, as Ann slowly comes to realize she has found a man like her father but may have helped to destroy him. Cooper is memorable as Long John Willoughby, a shy ball player who realizes he has come to stand for more than he ever could have on the pitching mound. Brennan is his usual great character, looking out for Long John as much as he can. Some warm and sentimental moments between Cooper's Long John and Stanwyck's Ann humanize the social drama, and offer great charm. In particular, Cooper's scene with Ann's mom, whose help he needs to ask her daughter to marry him, has a sweetness to it that is long gone from today's films. The baseball scene in a hotel room, when they play pretend ball, is a classic.

This is a wonderful film about the little guy that sometimes gets over-analyzed. Capra was simply reminding people that the first John Doe came a long time ago, and people still weren't listening, often fooled by words, and those who would twist something decent to their own sordid advantage. This film that works best if you forget it is a Frank Capra picture, and just enjoy it on its own merits. It can then be placed proudly beside the director's other classics on your movie shelf. A masterpiece, with an unforgettable performance by Coop. ( )

A former baseball player (Gary Cooper) is down on his luck when he's selected by a news reporter (Barbara Stanwyck) to become the face of a political campaign. Honest and trusting, he eventually realizes he's being exploited by corrupt politicians.