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Auction History Result 6w065 MEET JOHN DOE insert R1940s Gary Cooper & Barbara Stanwyck, Frank Capra classic, ultra rare! Date Sold 6/13/2019 Sold For: Login or Register to see sold price. An Undated (probably 1940s) Re-Release Theatrical Paperbacked Insert Movie Poster (measures 14" x 36" [36 x 91 cm]) (Learn More) Meet John Doe, the classic 1941 Frank Capra political populist romantic newspaper journalism mistaken identity melodrama (about a female reporter who writes a fictional story, which she presents as fact, about a man who is planning to commit suicide in protest of the world's treatment of downtrodden people; when the column is a giant hit, she must find a man to portray the writer and hires ex-baseball player Gary Cooper) starring Gary Cooper (in the title role as John Doe), Barbara Stanwyck, Edward Arnold, Walter Brennan, Spring Byington, James Gleason, Gene Lockhart, Rod La Rocque, Sterling Holloway, Irving Bacon, Regis Toomey, J. Farrell MacDonald, and Ann Doran. Note that in the original story this movie was based on (by Richard Connell and Robert Presnell), it concludes with John Doe standing on the roof, preparing to jump, and the Barbara Stanwyck character, Nan, tries to talk him out of doing it, and he is unshakable, and he says "I'll always love you, Nan" and she replies "I'll always love you, John". He then looks out at the crowd, which is singing the Battle Hymn of the Republic, and when the clock strikes midnight, Nan looks at where he was standing, and it is now empty, and she has "a look of pride and great joy". Frank Capra and screenwriter Robert Riskin did not want this ending, because it involved the character committing suicide, and they felt that the Catholic Church would strongly object to that, which might make the movie unable to get distribution. Capra filmed five different endings and previewed at least two of them. In one, they had the suicide take place, and ended with Walter Brennan holding John's dead body. In another, it ends at the John Doe Convention, with John Doe disgraced, and the editor saying "Well, boys, you can chalk another one up to the Pontius Pilates." Another had Nan talking John out of committing suicide. In another, John convinces the corrupt publisher to change his ways and join John in his crusade. But none of those four seemed right. At one of the previews where they showed one of the above endings, a viewer suggested ending it with the John Doe members telling John that they had never stopped believing in him, and Capra then filmed that ending, and this is the ending that is on the movie's final version! NOTE: Click on linked names to see a biography. If you know who did the art (if any), please let us know. Important Added Info: Note that this 1940s re-release insert is extremely rare! We have only auctioned one example of it in all our years of auctioning (and we have never auctioned a first release insert), and that was 13 years ago, when it sold for $621! Note that this is a Warner Bros. title where there are both "linen" and "flat" finish lobby cards, and in this case of this movie and a few other Warner Bros. titles of the very early 1940s, also inserts. Some people have suggested that both versions are from the very first release of the movie. One leading expert we know says that he believes that the "flat" finish lobby cards and insert are probably from a later 1941 release of this movie (probably when Capra re-shot the ending which is the ending people are familiar with). This would make the flat insert from the equivalent to a roadshow release. At this point, no one knows which of the above is correct, so please do not bid on this insert, unless you can accept the uncertainty about exactly when it was first used! Note that this poster has been paperbacked. What is paperbacking? This means the poster was backed onto a paper backing (acid-free), that is similar in feel to that of the original poster (except somewhat heavier). It is a similar process to linenbacking, except that most collectors use linenbacking for one-sheets and paperbacking for half-sheets, inserts, window cards, and lobby cards. Note that because this poster was paperbacked onto a thicker paper backing, it CAN'T be sent rolled (someone could conceivably roll it or try to do so, but we think it would have a strong chance of lessening its condition, so we will only send it in a very large flat package, unless the buyer insists, and then they would be responsible for any damage). What IS paperbacking? Learn More Overall Condition and Pre-Restoration Defects with Quality of Restoration: very good. Prior to paperbacking, the poster was never folded. It had pinholes, tears, and tiny paper loss around the edges. It had a diagonal tear running across the lower part of the poster, running through the letters of the words "John Doe". It had small paper loss above the "o" of "John", and it had tape on the back of that tear. It had some scuffs in the solid background areas. Overall, the poster was in good to very good condition prior to paperbacking. The poster was nicely backed, and displays well! Learn More about condition grades 
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