The Meanest Man in the World(Film, 1943)

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 1943 American comedy film directed by Sidney Lanfield, starring Jack Benny and Priscilla Lane, based upon a play that starred George M. Cohan, who produced it on Broadway and released by 20th Century Fox. The supporting cast features Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Edmund Gwenn and Anne Revere. The picture's screenplay was written by George Seaton 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 and Blanche Sweet. Only a fragment survives of the silent. ()