''The Cheaters'' (1945) lso_known_as_''MR._M._and_the_Pigeons'',_''The_Amazing_MR._M.'',_''The_Magnificent_Mr._M.''_and_''The_Magnificent_Rogue'')_is_a_Christmas_Screwball_comedy_film.html" ;"title="Christmas.html" ;"title="lso known as ''MR. M. and the Pigeons'', ''The Amazing MR. M.'', ''The Magnificent Mr. M.'' and ''The Magnificent Rogue'') is a Christmas">lso known as ''MR. M. and the Pigeons'', ''The Amazing MR. M.'', ''The Magnificent Mr. M.'' and ''The Magnificent Rogue'') is a Christmas Screwball comedy film">"screwball comedy" tale about a has-been actor invited to Christmas dinner by a rich family. The film was atypical of the Republic Pictures studio, directed by Joseph Kane and starring

Joseph Schildkraut Joseph Schildkraut (22 March 1896 – 21 January 1964) was an Austrian-American actor. He won an Oscar for his performance as Captain Alfred Dreyfus in the film '' The Life of Emile Zola'' (1937); later, he was nominated for a Golden Globe for ...

. The film was re-released in 1949 under a new title, ''The Castaway'', and when the Republic film catalogue was sold in the 1950s as late night television fodder, it appeared consistently for years as a Christmas staple throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

Plot

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

businessman James C. Pidgeon (

Eugene Pallette Eugene William Pallette (July 8, 1889 – September 3, 1954) was an American actor who worked in both the silent and sound eras, performing in more than 240 productions between 1913 and 1946. After an early career as a slender leading man, ...

) is on the verge of bankruptcy. His only hope is rich uncle Henry, who is on his deathbed. J.C.'s daughter Therese ( Ruth Terry) persuades the rest of the family to take in a charity case for the holidays, not out of the goodness of her heart but to impress her upper-class boyfriend Stephen Bates ( Robert Livingston) and his mother. From a newspaper list, they pick Anthony Marchand (

), an actor injured in a car accident at the height of his career 10 years before, who is now a broken-down drunk. J.C.'s son Reggie ( David Holt) returns with bad news: Uncle Henry left his $5 million estate to Florie Watson (

Ona Munson Ona Munson (born Owena Elizabeth Wolcott; June 16, 1903 – February 11, 1955) was an American film and stage actress. She starred in nine Broadway productions and 20 feature films in her career, which spanned over 30 years. Born and raised in ...

), a showgirl he had once seen perform as a child actress 30 years before in ''Uncle Tom's Cabin''. The will stipulates if Florie cannot be found within a reasonable amount of time, the estate goes to the Pidgeons. After bribing the sole executor, J.C. conspires to limit the search to just placing newspapers ads for a week without mentioning the inheritance. Furthermore, the executor believes the woman is in New York City, not Denver, where Uncle Henry died. J.C. decides to look for Florie himself, so he can better keep the news from her. Marchand (awakening from an alcoholic binge) overhears the whole scheme and suggests he can probably find her easily through

Actors' Equity The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing those who work in live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions without a book ...

. Reggie worries about a blackmail attempt, but Marchand makes a seemingly heartfelt speech about honor and his gratitude to the Pidgeons. He then eavesdrops and walks away without his customary limp, but is spotted by Angela (

Anne Gillis Alma Mabel Conner (February 12, 1927 – January 31, 2018), known professionally as Ann Gillis, was an American actress, best known for her film roles as a child actress. She performed the voice of Faline in the 1942 Disney animated film ' ...

), J.C.'s younger daughter. She lets him know that she is amused by his deception and he regains the limp. Marchand and Willie Crawford (

Raymond Walburn Raymond Walburn (September 9, 1887 – July 26, 1969) was an American character actor of stage and screen who appeared in dozens of Hollywood movie comedies and an occasional dramatic role during the 1930s and 1940s. Life and career Born i ...

), J.C.'s freeloading brother-in-law, have little trouble locating Florie. Willie tells her that they are cousins and that the family wants her to spend the holidays with them. Florie recognizes Marchand's name and confides to him, one trouper to another, that she knows she is not related to the Pidgeons, but as she is broke and behind on her rent, she is eager to play along. After the search ends up on the front page of the newspaper, the Pidgeons hastily relocate to an isolated house in the country to keep Florie in the dark. When they arrive, they discover that all of their servants have quit. J.C., having been raised there, refuses to hire new ones, fearing that they may be people he grew up with. The family, with the exception of Angela, pitch in. Soon, even Angela is helping out. Meanwhile, two private detectives are closing in. When they show up at the house, they are lied to, but the detectives are not fooled and set about getting a

search warrant A search warrant is a court order that a magistrate or judge issues to authorize law enforcement officers to conduct a search of a person, location, or vehicle for evidence of a crime and to confiscate any evidence they find. In most countries, ...

. That night Marchand alludes to the situation, implicitly comparing the family's deception to

Jacob Marley Jacob Marley is a fictional character in Charles Dickens's 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol'', a former business partner of the miser Ebenezer Scrooge, who has been dead for seven years.Hawes, Donal''Who's Who in Dickens'' Routledge (1998), Goog ...

's misdeeds in

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

' '' A Christmas Carol'' before passing out from too much drink. All of the Pidgeons are ashamed of themselves and finally confess everything to Florie. Later, Marchand wakes up and departs, leaving a note explaining his divided loyalties. Florie tracks him down at a bar in the nearest town and tells him she is going to give half the money to the Pidgeons.

Cast

as Mr. M aka Anthony Marchand *

Billie Burke Mary William Ethelbert Appleton Burke (August 7, 1884 – May 14, 1970) was an American actress who was famous on Broadway and radio, and in silent and sound films. She is best known to modern audiences as Glinda the Good Witch of the North ...

as Clara Pidgeon *

as James C. Pidgeon *

as Florie Watson *

as Willie Crawford *

as Angela Pidgeon * Ruth Terry as Therese Pidgeon * Robert Livingston as Stephen Bates * David Holt as Reggie Pidgeon *

Robert Greig Robert Greig (December 27, 1879 – June 27, 1958) was an Australian-American actor who appeared in more than 100 films between 1930 and 1949, usually as the dutiful butler. Born Arthur Alfred Bede Greig, he was the nephew of Australian pol ...

as MacFarland * St. Luke's Choristers as the Choir (featuring a solo by Philip D. Haynes)

Production

The original story by Frances Hyland and Albert Ray was written in 1941 as a vehicle for

Binnie Barnes Gertrude Maud Barnes (25 March 1903 – 27 July 1998), known professionally as Binnie Barnes, was an English actress whose career in films spanned from 1923 to 1973. Early life Barnes was born in Islington, London, the daughter of Rosa Enoy ...

, a comedian known for supporting roles at major studios and leading roles for "low-rent" studios like Republic. ''The Cheaters'' was bought by Paramount as a comeback vehicle for

John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...

and Carole Lombard, but was shelved and later recast after the deaths of both stars; ultimately, the story was sold to Republic Pictures. At a time when the studio specialized in low-budget westerns, it was an odd choice for Republic to take on a "screwball comedy". Many of the stars had to be borrowed from other studios, including Schildkraut, a legendary

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

star. Principal photography for the production ran from February 1 to mid-March 1945.Miller, Frank
"Articles: 'The Cheaters' (1945)."
''Turner Classic Movies''. Retrieved: November 22, 2015.

Reception

The unnamed critic for ''The New York Times'' gave ''The Cheaters'' a scathing review:

Republic wasn't kidding when it titled the vapid little film which it delivered yesterday to the Gotham "The Cheaters." It's a swindle, all right. ... the whole thing is trashy—just a compound of witless platitudes. And several good actors are wasted in it.

In a later review, film critic and historian

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fi ...

was much more charitable: "Excellent cast in enjoyable tale of wealthy family of snobs humanized by downtrodden actor they invite for Christmas dinner."

Home media

''The Cheaters'' has been released on DVD.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Connelly, Mark. ''Christmas at the Movies: Images of Christmas in American, British and European Cinema''. London:

I.B. Tauris I.B. Tauris is an educational publishing house and imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing. It was an independent publishing house with offices in London and New York City until its purchase in May 2018 by Bloomsbury Publishing. It specialises in non ...

, 2000. .

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cheaters 1945 films 1940s Christmas comedy films 1940s screwball comedy films American black-and-white films American Christmas comedy films American screwball comedy films Films directed by Joseph Kane Films scored by Walter Scharf Films set in New York City Republic Pictures films 1945 comedy films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films