Frank Capra directed Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck in this classic, ranked #49 in AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Cheers list of inspiring films.

Stanwyck plays a newspaper columnist who prints a letter from an imaginary “John Doe” who writes “the whole world’s going to pot, so in protest I’m going to commit suicide by jumping off the City Hall roof.” When the column becomes a hit, she has to find someone (Cooper of course) to stand in for Doe. Capra’s earnest populism and smart characterizations push Meet John Doe to the 29th position in the Internet Archive Top 100.