Behind the Curtain: September Newspaper Movie of the Month

Meet John Doe

This 1941 Frank Capra classic is as much a movie about politics as it is about newspapers. Golden Age stars Barbara Stanwyck, playing a reporter who makes up an unemployed protagonist named John Doe, and Gary Cooper, who plays Doe, turn this cynical plot into a gripping story of inspiration. In our book, in fact, it's the best performance of Cooper's career. Stanwyck's superb too.