Scattergood Baines

Scattergood Baines is a 1941 American comedy-drama film. It is based on a novel by Clarence Budington Kelland. The character of Scattergood was also popular during the days of live radio.
In the film, Guy Kibbee plays the title character. The plot has him choosing the small New England town of Cold River to settle down in and, twenty years later, his outmaneuvering of the townspeople both when it comes to large matters (ownership of the local railroad) and small (the pretty new schoolteacher's hair).
Five other Scattergood Baines films, all starring Guy Kibbee, were subsequently made.
Background.
The homespun but canny Baines was originally created by popular writer Clarence Budington Kelland in stories for "The Saturday Evening Post", and a radio version ran from 1938 through 1950.