

Meet John Doe
All America wants to meet the “Mr. Deeds” of 1941!
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.
TMDB
7.3/10
294 votes
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Not rated yet
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- Status
- Released
- Budget
- —
- Box office
- $2M
- Language
- English
- baseball player
- radio broadcast
- suicide note
- domain
- enchant
Top billed cast


















Behind the camera
Where to watch
All optionsAvailability for India. Provided by JustWatch through the TMDB API.
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Release dates
United StatesUS
- PremiereLos Angeles12 Mar 1941
- Theatrical (limited)San Francisco, California14 Mar 1941
- TheatricalNR3 May 1941
United KingdomGB
- Theatrical (limited)3 Oct 1941
- Theatrical12 Jan 1942
CanadaCA
- TheatricalPG14 Mar 1941
BrazilBR
- Theatrical14IMDB14 May 1942
- TVLColumbia Tristar30 Dec 1998
FranceFR
- TVTPCiné+ Classic23 Sept 2026
GermanyDE
- Theatrical1611 Jul 1947
MexicoMX
- TheatricalB14 Mar 1941
NetherlandsNL
- PhysicalDVD22 Dec 2003
RussiaSU
- Theatrical24 Aug 1951
Frequently asked questions
Meet John Doe was released on 14 March 1941.
Audience reviews
2- J9/10
John Chard
4/7/2019
The meek can only inherit the earth when the John Doe's start loving their neighbours. After crafting Mr. Deeds Goes to Town and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington for Columbia, Capra quit and made this third film about an average Joe who is thrust into a powerful world where exploitation is high on the agenda. Thus, in true Capra style the story unfolds to a customary flip flop triumph. Ann Mitchell (Barbara Stanwy…
- C7/10
CinemaSerf
6/6/2025
Anyone else think there is a shade of “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” (1939) about this? Journalist “Ann” (Barbara Stanwyck) is shown the door when a new owner decides to sack just about everyone at the paper she works at, but as a parting shot she creates a letter that suggests that a hapless member of the public - one “John Doe” - is so fed up with his lot that he intends to commit suicide from the city hall on Chri…
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