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. That night Marchand alludes to the situation, implicitly comparing the family's deception to Jacob Marley's misdeeds in Charles Dickens' 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 Joseph Schildkraut as Mr. M aka Anthony Marchand Billie Burke as Clara Pidgeon Eugene Pallette as James C. Pidgeon Ona Munson as Florie Watson Raymond Walburn as Willie Crawford Anne Gillis as Angela Pidgeon Ruth Terry as Therese Pidgeon Robert Livingston as Stephen Bates David Holt as Reggie Pidgeon Robert Greig 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, 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 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