Meet John Doe (1941) + an Extra!

Meet John Doe (1941) – A man down on his luck (Cooper) meets a newspaper reporter (Stanwyck) who needs a front for a publicity stunt.  A fake letter claims that “John Doe” is going to kill himself because the government is so screwed up.  What starts as a publicity stunt turns into a political movement and everyone involved has to answer for their actions.

Directed by Frank Capra                   Starring – Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck

Once again Capra creates the story of a regular guy trying to figure out the twisted logic of the “real world” of media and government.  It starts out feeling a lot like “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town”, another Capra/Cooper effort.  Unlike most of his stuff, this one takes you down a slightly more realistic path.  A Capra movie that doesn’t deliver a light and happy ending feels almost sacrilegious, but it’s the right one here.  The ending was a problem from the start.  Capra tried four different endings and didn’t like any of them.

While Cooper has the title role, in many ways it feels more like Stanwyck’s movie.  Whenever I see her movies, it reminds me of how often she is overlooked.  Growing up she was just the mother on “The Big Valley”, a TV western that came along right at the end of that craze.  Even there, her character showed the intelligence and toughness that were her trademark.  In her prime, she was all that and gorgeous.  A Stanwyck movie character was not a woman to be trifled with, or she would make you pay the price.

Cooper is his familiar affable everyman.  He doesn’t really “get” what the big deal is, but it means soft beds and regular meals.  Slowly, it begins to dawn on him just what is beginning to form around this little fairy tale.

Add in a stellar supporting cast of character actors (Edward Arnold, Walter Brennan, Gene Lockhart) and you get a wonderful film for any time.  The plot and some of what we are seeing today in politics and the media make the movie especially fitting today.

Why You Will Like It – It’s classic Capra with a slightly bittersweet end.  Stanwyck is brilliant.

Rating – **** Recommended

An extra review this week.  This movie was based on a favorite book when I was growing up.

The Mouse That Roared (1959) – A tiny European country decides the simplest way out of their economic mess is to declare war on the United States, lose and then let the U.S. rebuild them.

Directed by Jack Arnold                         Starring – Peter Sellers, Jean Seberg.

As noted, I loved this book as a kid.  The movie is an inconsequential piece of silliness.  Sellers plays three different roles, the Queen, the Prime Minister and Grand Marshall of the army of the Duchy of Grand Fenwick.  The story involves the ultimate weapon, an absent-minded scientist and his pretty daughter, and the United States losing the war.  The only other items of particular interest is William Hartnell in the role of top sergeant for the Fenwickian army.  Hartnell would become the First Doctor (Doctor Who) just a few years later.  Leo McKern (Rumpole of the Bailey, among many other roles) takes a turn as the “loyal opposition” in Parliament.

There’s really not of meat here.  This is a movie aimed squarely at the children’s market.  It’s not without charm, however.

Why You Will Like It – Silly fun, and Sellers enjoying himself.

Rating – *** Worth A Look