Review of Meet John Doe (1941) by Sarah F — 01 Jul 2007

Frank Capra's films were not called Capra-corn without reason. However, this doesn't generally bother me. At times I find the innocence and idealism refreshing and if one looks beyond the "Capra-corn" there is usually some cutting political satire.

I find that his films are much more relevant today than people give them credit for. Meet John Doe, however, is one of Capra's more naievely sentimental films and also one of his more heavy handed.

This really undercuts the potenially fertile ground for interesting commentary as well as the charm that Capra films usually have. The film lacks the same humor and unpretentious style of other Capra works and as a result the film, unfortunatly, does not age particularly well.

That said, the movie is not without merit. Stanwyck is always worth watching even though her part in this film is smaller than I would like. Walter Brennen is also enjoyable and his musical duets with Cooper are priceless.

The film has some genuienly funny moments, and if nothing else even Capra's less than stellar work is better than a good chunk of other filmmakers' work.