Meet John Doe

As a parting shot, fired reporter Ann Mitchell (Barbara Stanwyck) ends her last column with a fabricated letter written by an unemployed "John Doe". Angered at the ill treatment of America´s little people, the imaginary "John Doe" threatened suicide. A public phenomenon occurs when the phony letter goes to press. Seeking to keep her job, Mitchell convinces her managing editor (James Gleason) to play up the John Doe letter for all it´s worth. To ensure the letters do not seem phony, they hire a ballplayer- turned-hobo (Gary Cooper) to impersonate John Doe. Ann and her bosses cynically milk the story for all it´s worth untill the made-up John Doe´s philosophy stasrts a whole political movement. Believing that he is working for the good of America, Cooper agrees to front the National John Joes Movement, until he discovers that publisher D.B. Norton (Edward Arnold) plans to exploit John Doe in an attempt to create a third political party and impose a virtual dictatorship on the country. Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck give wonderful performances in this powerful and heartwarming film in the tradition of IT´S A WONDERFUL LIFE. This is a don´t miss motion picture.