Movie

Meet John Doe

1941 · 123 min

A warm-hearted yet shadowed Capra fable that swings between screwball banter and earnest, aching idealism.

Tagline: All America wants to meet the “Mr. Deeds” of 1941!
Overview: As a parting shot, fired reporter Ann Mitchell prints a fake letter from unemployed "John Doe," who threatens suicide in protest of social ills. The paper is forced to rehire Ann and hires John Willoughby to impersonate "Doe." Ann and her bosses cynically milk the story for all it's worth, until the made-up "John Doe" philosophy starts a whole political movement.

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How it feels

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Tone: earneststrength 3 of 3
satiricalstrength 2 of 3
melancholicstrength 2 of 3
warmstrength 2 of 3
Pacing: measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: politics
media
class
corruption
redemption
Places: big city
small town
workplace
Era: period
Audience: adult
Form: twist ending
Content intensity: Gore none
Language mild
Violence mild
Sex mild

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	3
Horror	1
Humour	5
Realism	7
Romance	5
Tension	6
Darkness	6
Complexity	6
Emotional weight	8

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Details

Genres: drama, comedy, romance
Directed by: Frank Capra
Written by: Robert Riskin
Starring: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward Arnold, Walter Brennan, Spring Byington, James Gleason, Gene Lockhart, Rod La Rocque
Music: Dimitri Tiomkin
Cinematography: George Barnes
Runtime: 123 min
Country: United States of America
Languages: English

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Meet John Doe

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