Meet John Doe (1941)

Barbara Stanwyck is Ann, a reporter who -- in order to keep her job -- makes up a letter to the editor from a "John Doe" who's threatening to jump to his death on Christmas Eve because he's fed up with the state of the world. When the newspaper realizes the cash cow the John Doe story could be, they find a down-on-his-luck guy to claim to be the letter's author. Across the country, regular people identify with Doe and begin to act with more community-mindedness while cynical politicians scheme to exploit the phenomenon.

The first hour or so is sweet and fun. Cooper is perfectly cast as the humble Doe and Stanwyck is, as always, marvelous. But the story bogs down too much in the ugly side of things -- the latter half drags interminably.

B-