In protest at the corruption and hypocrisy he sees all around him, an unemployed man calling himself "John Doe" has written to the New Bulletin newspaper pledging to throw himself from the top of City Hall on Christmas Eve.

Written by a discharged journalist as a publicity stunt, and as a parting shot at the paper's new editor, the premise of the letter unexpectedly fires the imagination of the bulletin's readers and the wider American public. Its real author, Ann Mitchell (Barbara Stanwyck), is rehired and now needs to find someone to play the part of the fictional "John Doe"...

Meet John Doe is often held to be part of a thematic trilogy that includes Mister Deeds Goes To Town and Mister Smith Goes To Washington. It explores a recurring notion in Capra's work, that of the universal everyman exploited by a corrupt and powerful establishment. The film's reflections on corporate control of both the media, and of ordinary people's lives is still as resonant as ever.