''The Richest Man in Town'' is a 1941 American

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by Charles Barton and starring

Frank Craven Frank Craven (August 24, 1875September 1, 1945) was an American stage and film actor, playwright, and screenwriter, best known for originating the role of the Stage Manager in Thornton Wilder's ''Our Town''. Early years Craven's parents, John T ...

Edgar Buchanan William Edgar Buchanan II (March 20, 1903 – April 4, 1979) was an American actor with a long career in both film and television. He is most familiar today as Uncle Joe Carson from the '' Petticoat Junction'', '' Green Acres'', and '' The Bever ...

and Roger Pryor.Fetrow p.403 It was produced and distributed by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

Plot

In a small town bank manager Abb Crothers and

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

owner Pete Martin have a friendly feud stretching back many years. However Martin goes too far when he published an

obituary An obituary (wikt:obit#Etymology 2, obit for short) is an Article (publishing), article about a recently death, deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as Article (publishing), news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on p ...

of the still alive Crothers.

Cast

as Abb Crothers *

as Pete Martin * Eileen O'Hearn as Mary Martin * Roger Pryor as Tom Manning *

Tom Dugan Thomas or Tom Dugan may refer to: * Thomas Buchanan Dugan (1858–1940), United States Army brigadier general *Tom Dugan (actor, born 1889) (1889–1955), Irish-born American film and television actor *Tom Dugan (actor, born 1961) Tom Dugan (bo ...

as Jack Leslie * George McKay as Jerry Ross * Jimmy Dodd as Bill *

Jan Duggan Jan Duggan (born Genevieve Hussey; November 6, 1881 – March 10, 1977) was an American film and stage actress. Early life Duggan was born Genevieve Hussey in St. Louis, Missouri. She was the daughter of George W. Hussey Sr. and Mary E. Fl ...

as Penelope Kidwell * John Tyrrell as Ozzie Williams * Harry Tyler as Cliff Smithers * Will Wright as Frederick Johnson * Joel Friedkin as Ed Gunther *

Erville Alderson Erville Alderson (September 11, 1882 – August 4, 1957) was an American character actor, usually portraying strong-willed or wise men. He appeared in nearly 200 films between 1918 and 1957. Life Alderson was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He ...

as Jenkins * Thomas Ross as Dr. Dickenson * Eddie Earle as Berton *

Ferris Taylor Robert Ferris Taylor (March 25, 1888 – March 7, 1961) was an American film actor and vaudeville performer. Biography Taylor owned a vaudeville company, the Taylor Players. Besides his acting, Taylor sometimes sang in vaudeville programs. ...

as Perkins * George Guhl as Sheriff * Netta Packer as Miss Andrews * William Gould as Thorpe *

Kathryn Sheldon Kathryn Sheldon (September 22, 1879December 25, 1975) was an American film actress who appeared in over 100 films between 1916 and 1956. Modern viewers will recognize Sheldon as the domineering Nell in The Three Stooges' 1940 short film ''Rocki ...

as Martha

References

Bibliography

* Fetrow, Alan G. ''Feature Films, 1940-1949: a United States Filmography''. McFarland, 1994.

External links

* * * 1941 films 1940s English-language films Columbia Pictures films Films directed by Charles Barton 1941 comedy films American comedy films American black-and-white films 1941 drama films 1940s American films {{1940s-US-drama-film-stub