as just 'Bert') J. Farrell MacDonald as "Sourpuss" Harry Holman as Mayor Hawkins Warren Hymer as "Angelface" Andrew Tombes as Spencer Pierre Watkin as Hammett Stanley Andrews as Western Mitchell Lewis as Bennett Charles Wilson as Charlie Dawson Vaughan Glaser as Governor Sterling Holloway as Dan Harry Davenport as Former Bulletin Owner (uncredited) Garry Owen as Sign Painter (uncredited) Production The film was screenwriter Robert Riskin's last collaboration with Capra. The screenplay was derived from a 1939 film treatment, titled "The Life and Death of John Doe", written by Richard Connell and Robert Presnell who would go on to be the recipients of the film's sole Academy Award nomination for Best Original Story. The treatment was based upon Connell's 1922 Century Magazine story titled "A Reputation". Gary Cooper was always Frank Capra's first choice to play John Doe. Cooper had agreed to the part without reading a script for two reasons: He had enjoyed working with Capra on their earlier collaboration, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), and he wanted to work with Barbara Stanwyck. The role of the hardbitten news reporter, however, was initially offered to Ann Sheridan, but the first choice for the role had been turned down by Warner Bros. due to a contract dispute, and Olivia de Havilland was similarly contacted, albeit unsuccessfully. The composer selected was frequent Capra collaborator Dimitri Tiomkin, who also did the scores for Capra's Lost Horizon, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and It's a Wonderful Life. He later won two music Oscars for the non-Capra film High Noon. Reception Bosley Crowther, the film critic for The New York Times wrote that John Willoughby was just the latest of the everyman that Frank Capra had portrayed in earlier films: In the Variety review, there was a more critical look at the plot: The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists: 2003: AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Heroes & Villains: John Willoughby – Nominated Hero 2006: AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Cheers – #49 Adaptations Meet John Doe was dramatized as a radio play on the September 28, 1941 broadcast of The Screen Guild Theater, starring Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck and Edward Arnold in their original roles. A musical stage version of the film, written by Eddie Sugarman and composed by Andrew Gerle, was produced by Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC, from March 16 to May 20, 2007, featuring Heidi