Written by: Robert Riskin

Directed by: Frank Capra

BBD Comments:

Despite the awful print, there is no getting around how pitch-perfect this Selection was. What a coup for Mr. Wiener that the rest of us were lucky enough to be viewing this lesser known Capra film for the first time.

I can’t explain how it is I had never before seen this film, or even known that Capra had a second Christmas/suicide flick in his Canon. While ‘Meet John Doe’ does not reach the ridiculously high bar set by ‘It’s A Wonderful Life,’ it is a very worthy film - and as a Selection, it may well be Wiener’s best effort since ‘Yojimbo.’

Gary Cooper’s turn as Capra’s ubiquitous Everyman is a monument to understated passion. His work is so delicate and precise that his tenth heartfelt monologue is as welcome and moving as his first. Celebrated quite enough in his time, it seems his legend has dimmed among our generation and it is a shame. Cooper’s work here is one of the finest performances we have ever put up on the wall. Barbara Stanwyck is no slouch either, and though the script lacks the courage to make her responsible for the words behind the John Doe Movement (opting to credit her deceased father instead) she still creates a remarkably strong and willful heroine in an era where such characterizations were rare (and often shrill).

Capra is a master. I marveled Wednesday at his deft scene blocking and camera movement. For such a dialogue heavy story, it is a miracle that he is able to make it so visually kinetic. His camera re-frames shots three or four times in a single un-cut scene and it creates an energy and focus that is unlike any other film maker. He is so kind to his audience, walking us through the story with care and respect, and I can think of no other director I trust more to tell a story well.

Well done, Ben. You hit the nail on the head.

Onwards.

Nubs Comments:

On this Wednesday Wiener did what he does best. As he’s done with ‘Yojimbo,’ ‘The Third Man’, ‘Peeping Tom,’ and now ‘Meet John Doe,’ he’s taken a film genre we’ve enjoyed on the Stucco and shown us his Grandfather.  This time it was the inspiring, uplifting kind-of, Holiday classic invented by the master, Frank Capra.

Though it’s not my favorite genre or director I was appreciative to see this lesser known classic, even on the worst print ever shown on the Stucco/Sheet. Ah, the snap, crackle and pop of the non-remastered DVD.  I was just thankful I didn’t fall asleep, as is usually the case when the temperatures drop, the layers of clothes and alcohol pile on, and the black and white movie slows to a crawl. The last 30 minutes definitely drag. Perhaps this was back when studios demanded a two hour run time because from the never-ending convention/angry mob scene to the finale had me believing we were going to have to watch Ms. Stanwyck climb up all 14 flights of stairs.

Despite the minor flaws a film from this period carries it was a great pick to put Movienight in the holiday spirit. The theme stays with you days after viewing. When traffic or holiday shopping gets tough, I just think to myself John Doe didn’t throw in his hand when all looked bleak. And then I climb down off the ledge of our tiny converted garage out of the freezing mid-50’s L.A. weather and shout, “live on, Movienight!” You hear that, Dicks St.? They say every time you hear Tooda break a beer bottle a fairy gets its wings.

SELECTOR Comments:

As I confessed in my preamble, I think my didactic streak sometimes gets the worst of me.  I blew the Halloween Pick with a film that falls into the category of “a film you should see,” rather than showing a film we all might actually want to see on Halloween itself after braving the parading hordes to make it to Movie Night.  So with the failure of ‘Peeping Tom’ still raw, I approached the Christmas pick with trepidation.

Coming in with ‘Meet John Doe,’ I knew I could deliver one of the great fake outs in Movie Night history.  As I said, “Here’s a film about a man contemplating suicide on Christmas.  And the director is Frank Capra,” I saw heads nod and the crowd settle back to enjoy ‘It’s a Wonderful LIfe.’ Then there was a wonderful moment of confusion as the assemblage collectively realized, some quicker than others, “Wait, that’s not the opening of ‘It’s a Wonderful LIfe.’”

‘Meet John Doe’ isn’t Capra’s best work. It lacks both the iconic imagery and the movie defining monologues of Capra’s better known and enduring fare.  But what it lacks there, it makes up for in its resonance with our current political and media landscape. We talk about the prescience of a movie like ‘Network.’ Well, ‘Meet John Doe’ should be required viewing at the FCC as they move towards deregulating everything.  While I’m sure Rupert Murdoch has nothing but the most benevolent of intentions in his quest to own everything (and he can’t run for President), the movie is a powerful reminder why we shouldn’t put too much control over the media we consume in to any one person’s hands.

While this isn’t one of Capra’s best films, I was struck by it’s modernity.  Unlike a lot of other Capra films, I felt the characters and the dialogue were a little more complex than what we see in his better known films.  I found this a little more believable than ‘IAWL,’ ‘MSGTW,’ and ‘MDGTT.’  True, it was made later. But this movie seemed a little more ambiguous, a little more complex, and little more open to allowing people’s flaws to remain unredeemed than his previous work.  And it may have suffered for it.  It’s not a perfect fable.  But I take a measure of pleasure showing something no one had seen before.  And not having it suck.  Merry Christmas, Movie Night.  

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