We continue our voyage through 1940s cinema with a look at Frank Capra’s other awesome (but less Christmassy) Christmas film Meet John Doe from 1941. This was nominated for a best story Oscar and rightly so – it’s uplifting, inspirational stuff with peerless dialogue and a fantastic cast. Barbara Stanwyck is journalist Ann who, miffed that she’s being laid off from her newspaper, pens a fake letter for her final column from a ‘John Doe’ who’s so dismayed with the state of the world he plans to jump off City Hall on Christmas Eve.
The letter creates such a stir that, after coming clean, Ann’s invited back to the paper to fabricate the story further and sell more newspapers. They recruit handsome, decent but homeless and desperate ex-baseball player John (Gary Cooper) to play the part in return for a wage and the hopes of an operation to fix the injury that wrecked his career. Of course, the fib escalates with John finding himself way more famous than anyone could have imagined.
‘John Doe’ becomes the figurehead for a movement, an inspiration for millions of overlooked average Joes across America, as he rails against the injustices faced by the common man with speeches secretly ghost-written by Ann and inspired by her dead father’s memoirs. It’s stirring stuff and I find myself gripped.
The speeches about Americans helping their neighbours and being the best they can be are rousing and very well-written. I’m not afraid to say that after Stanwyck’s electrifying, desperate monologue at the tale’s climax, I find myself shedding real tears. Not bad for an 80 year-old film. You’ve got to love lines like “If something’s worth dying for, surely it’s got to be worth living for.”
Of course, it’s all depressingly prescient of our modern age and the Trump administration, as rich, greedy power mongers try to hijack Doe’s cause to their own diabolical ends. But like Joe Biden’s historic presidential victory, this is also a hopeful film – a reminder that we can beat the fatcat assholes if we do more. The message to not just rely on elected officials to fix the world for us, but to make our own efforts to improve society is as relevant today as it ever was.
It's so telling that in John’s introductory scene, while everyone around him debates how best to milk this situation for as much moolah as possible, Doe just keeps staring at a plate of tempting, delicious food nearby. It’s a tale about basic human needs versus rampant capitalism and greed. Let’s make sure no-one goes hungry before we start lining our pockets. Make sure everyone has enough to get by before going back for seconds. Especially at Christmas, for God’s sake.
It's not as Christmassy as I’d have liked, but the thrilling crescendo and perfect ending do take place on Christmas Eve night with allusions to John as an unwitting Christ-like figure uniting mankind and ready to die for our sins. It's weighty stuff, beautifully shot and told in an enchanting, edifying way. With its soaring score, top performances and quality message about common decency and ‘loving thy neighbour’, I’m really glad to have discovered it.
I watch this on May 6th, as the UK heads to the polls and it galvanises me to get out there and make my vote count. Sounds cheesy, but it’s that sort of movie. I hope they show this in schools.