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Meet John Doe
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Walter Brennan, Gary Cooper, and Barbara Stanwyck in a black-and-white scene from Meet John Doe, sitting at a table with dishes and food, engaged in conversation.
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Walter Brennan, Gary Cooper, and Barbara Stanwyck in a black-and-white scene from Meet John Doe, sitting at a table with dishes and food, engaged in conversation.
A scene from the film Meet John Doe (1941) (From left) Walter Brennan, Gary Cooper, and Barbara Stanwyck in Meet John Doe (1941), directed by Frank Capra.

Meet John Doe

film by Capra [1941]
Written by
Lee Pfeiffer
Author/co-author of numerous books about the cinema and is regarded as one of the foremost James Bond scholars. His book The Essential Bond: An Authorized Guide to the World of 007 (written with...
Lee Pfeiffer
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

Meet John Doe, American comedy drama film, released in 1941, that was director Frank Capra’s exploration of ambition, greed, and the U.S. political system. After being fired, opportunistic newspaper columnist Anne Mitchell (played by Barbara Stanwyck) pens a fake letter by “John Doe,” who threatens to commit suicide over the injustices experienced by the “common man.” The letter strikes a chord with readers and saves Mitchell’s job. To maintain the ruse, she pays Long John...

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