Not to be confused with the 1920 George M. Cohan play or

The Meanest Man in the World (1923 film) ''The Meanest Man in the World'' is a 1923 American silent comedy film. Directed by Edward F. Cline, the film stars Bert Lytell, Blanche Sweet, and Bryant Washburn. It was released on October 22, 1923. As of 2023, this film is considered lost. ...

''The Meanest Man in the World'' is a 1943 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Sidney Lanfield Sidney Lanfield (April 20, 1898 – June 20, 1972) was an American film director known for directing romances and light comedy films and later television programs. The one-time jazz musician and vaudevillian star started his first directing job ...

, starring

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century wit ...

and Priscilla Lane, based upon a play that starred George M. Cohan, who produced it on Broadway and released by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

. The supporting cast features

Eddie "Rochester" Anderson Edmund Lincoln Anderson (September 18, 1905 – February 28, 1977) was an American comedian and actor. To a generation of early radio and television comedy he was known as "Rochester". Anderson entered show business as a teenager on the vaudevi ...

Edmund Gwenn Edmund Gwenn (born Edmund John Kellaway; 26 September 1877 – 6 September 1959) was an English actor. On film, he is best remembered for his role as Kris Kringle in the Christmas film ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947), for which he won th ...

and

Anne Revere Anne Revere (June 25, 1903 – December 18, 1990) was an American actress and a progressive member of the board of the Screen Actors' Guild. She was best known for her work on Broadway and her film portrayals of mothers in a series of critical ...

. The picture's screenplay was written by

George Seaton George Seaton (April 17, 1911 – July 28, 1979) was an American screenwriter, playwright, film director and producer, and theatre director. Life and career Early life Seaton was born George Edward Stenius in South Bend, Indiana, of Swedish des ...

and Allan House. The plotline involves a kind lawyer (Benny) who pretends to be mean in order to further his career, which has the unforeseen repercussion of placing his romance with Lane's character in serious jeopardy. The story was filmed once before in the silent era in 1923 by First National with

Bert Lytell Bertram Lytell (February 24, 1885 – September 28, 1954) was an American actor in theater and film during the silent film era and early talkies. He starred in romantic, melodrama, and adventure films. Background Born in New York City, Lyt ...

and Blanche Sweet. Only a fragment survives of the silent.

Plot

Richard Clarke is a lawyer with his own legal practice in Pottsville, New York. His black paralegal assistant continuously claims that Clarke is far too nice a man to be a profitable businessman, since he always fails to demand payment from his poor clients and never takes on those he doesn't believe are innocent. But Clarke's main problem is that he is hopelessly in love with the lovely Janie Brown. Janie's wealthy father has decided that Janie will marry the even wealthier bachelor Bill Potts. Clarke remains completely oblivious of this fact, One day, after Janie and her father visited Clarke in his office, they are hit by a truck on their way home in their car. Clarke wants to impress the father, and starts to litigate against the poor farmer who drove the truck, claiming a large amount of money for the damages. But after learning that the farmer lacks funds to pay the damages, the good-hearted Clarke stops his litigation. Mr. Brown isn't impressed at all by Clarke's efforts, but he tells him that he has excellent qualities as a lawyer and should go to New York City to make better use of them. That said and done, Clarke brings his paralegal and moves to New York to start earning the big bucks. His plans come to shame, as not a single client comes to ask for his help in the first four months. Ashamed of his misfortune, he panics when he gets a message that Janie and her father are coming for a visit. Clarke desperately tries to find a more upscale apartment to impress them. While visiting a nice building, Clarke and Shufro overhear a couple arguing and leaving their apartment in anger. Clarke then occupies the apartment while the couple is gone, and receives Janie and Mr. Brown in it. Shufro is on the lookout outside, and when the couple returns to the building, Clarke takes Janie and Mr. Brown out to a nightclub. Janie is so impressed with Clarke's achievements that she wants to marry him immediately. Clarke convinces her that they should wait for a month, giving him time to secretly sort out his situation. Having spent every last cent on visiting nightclubs with Janie and her father, Clarke is forced to change his ways to get some paying clients. While practicing being mean on the street, Clarke steals a lollipop from a little boy, and unfortunately the act is captured on film by a passing photographer. The picture ends up in the newspaper the next day, with a headline that reads "Meanest Man In The World Takes Candy From Baby". After the initial shock, Clarke happily discovers that a lot of rich clients are attracted to his practice because of the article. Among others, billionaire Frederick P. Leggitt comes to visit him at the office, looking for representation for an eviction of the billionaire's old sister-in-law, Frances. After more of the same kind of "mean" publicity, hoards of clients arrive at Clarke's office and business is booming. In secret, Clarke takes care of Frances and lets her live in his apartment. Janie is appalled by Clarke's seeming new personality, and during a visit she breaks off their engagement. While Clarke is out drowning his sorrows at a bar an unfortunate series of misunderstandings regarding Frances ensue, and the public is led to believe she has taken her life in the river. Janie, who is also out drowning her sorrows, hears that Clarke lives with a woman in his apartment, and when she bumps into Clarke on the street, she slaps him in anger over his deceit. Another photographer is in place and captures the scene. The next day the picture is published, saying that Janie is the woman living with Clarke in the apartment. Mr. Brown sees the article and reacts violently. Mr. Brown forces both Clarke and Janie to go to her apartment in New York. With the help of a judge, Mr. Brown makes the couple marry on the spot. Before this, Shufro has told Janie the truth about Clarke's "room mate" Frances. When the couple is married Mr. Brown orders Clarke to stay in Pottsville and reform and learn how to be less mean and a good husband. Happily Janie then explains the misunderstanding to her father.

Cast

as Richard Clarke * Priscilla Lane as Janie Brown *

as Shufro *

as Frederick P. Leggitt *Matt Briggs as Mr. Brown *

as Miss Crockett * Margaret Seddon as Mrs. Frances H. Leggitt *

Helene Reynolds Helene Whitney (born Kenyon Fortescue, July 4, 1914 – March 28, 1990) was an American actress who appeared in films in the late 1930s and 1940s. She was known as Helene Reynolds after her marriage. Biography Whitney was born Kenyon Fortes ...

as Wife * Gary Gray as Boy With Lollipop * Lyle Talbot as Bill Potts * Harry Hayden as Mr. Chambers * Hobart Cavanaugh as Mr. Throckmorton * Tor Johnson as Vladimir Pulasky *

Gladden James Gladden James (February 26, 1888 – August 28, 1948) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1911 and 1946. He was born in Zanesville, Ohio and died in Hollywood, California, from leukemia. Family In 1914 he ...

as Clerk (uncredited)

Box office

The film earned $1.3 million in the US.

Radio adaptation

''The Meanest Man in the World'' was presented on '' Theatre Guild on the Air'' February 17, 1952. The one-hour adaptation starred

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality ...

, Josephine Hull, and

Colleen Gray Coleen Gray (born Doris Bernice Jensen; October 23, 1922 – August 3, 2015) was an American actress. She was best known for her roles in the films '' Nightmare Alley'' (1947), '' Red River'' (1948), and Stanley Kubrick's '' The Killing'' ( ...

References

External links

''The Meanest Man in the World''
in the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meanest Man in the World 1943 films 1943 comedy films 20th Century Fox films American black-and-white films American comedy films American films based on plays Films directed by Sidney Lanfield Films scored by Cyril J. Mockridge Films set in New York (state) Films produced by William Perlberg 1940s English-language films 1940s American films