Meet John Doe (1941), by Academy Award Winning director Frank Capra, is a classic drama with a romantic, sentimental twist thrown in. This feel good movie struck a chord with our publisher, inspiring our publication to sponsor a John Doe Club of our own that we want you to join. Delaware County Magazine wants to hear about the “John Doe’s” that exist all over our county-and we want to give them the acknowledgment they deserve. How did this movie inspire such a club?

When she realizes the paper she works for is about to fire her, journalist Ann Mitchell, played by Barbara Stanwyck, knows she must do something to increase the circulation and readership fast. She writes her last column about a hobo who is going to commit suicide on Christmas Eve, across from city hall in his digust and protest with how society is. The letter was brilliant, but fake. The column starts a public outcry from everyday men and women all over the country. It is the readership the paper was looking for and then some! When called out about the hoax from a neighboring paper, Ann and the paper she works for hire a man to fill in and pretend he is the real “John Doe”. It leads to a nationwide tour promoting “leaving the politics behind” and “being a humanitarian- just to be one” instead. John Doe clubs started nationwide and the people took the power of change into their own hands. They helped their neighbors rather than judging them.

Gary Cooper’s portrayal of the character John Doe goes to a new dimension as he internally questions his own morals. He falls in love with the woman behind the scenes, the journalist who is giving him his forum and supplying him with the words that the people believe are his own. A baseball player who didn’t make it in the pros, now a hobo by “the click” that society had formed and labeled him, Cooper’s tall, dark, and handsome demeanor mesmorize the nation as the inspiring words written for him take the nation by storm. When he is told that he is being used by the paper for presiential votes, the true “John Doe” in him comes out, and he stands up for his own beliefs and the beliefs of the other John Doe’s in the country. He is devoted entirely to the interest of the John Doe’s, and not politics.

John Doe is a movie about giving and expecting nothing in return. About being a great humanitarian. Letting us know it’s time to meet out neighbors, to “tear down” the fences and get to know each other rather than placing judgement on someone by one’s first impression. That the miracle of humanitarism is a miracle that is so terrific it can only happen in the USA! Everyone needs a John Doe. At times, we all are lonely and hungry for someone just to talk to, to listen to us, and help. Not for politics, or whose on whose side, but because we are all human. It’s for reminding each other not to give up, and keep fighting the good fight. Although this movie is a classic from 1941, it is very fitting in today’s times of recession, job layoffs, home forclosures, and being able to put food on the tables for our families. It reminds us to fight terrorism by getting to know our neighbors over the fences we have built and helping each other find the jobs needed to support our families. We are all human and by pulling together and letting the politics go, we can join forces and make the country a better place. Rent this DVD and get inspired like we did! Please tell us about the John Doe in your neighborhood by logging onto www.delcomag.com and look for the Nominate a John Doe button! You can nominate as many John Doe’s as you like! All John Doe’s will receive an honorable mention on our facebook fan page and some John Doe’s will be mentioned in print in each issue of our magazine.