With a cast like "The Cheaters" had, you'd sure expect it to be better. Instead, this comedy is pretty dreary and, most importantly, not at all funny. It's hard to imagine a dopey family like this (headed by Eugene Palette from "My Man Godfrey" and Billy Burke, from countless films LIKE "My Man Godfrey") not being funny or kooky...but somehow the writers seem to have missed the mark in so many ways with this film.
When the film begin, the family matriarch (Burke) has taken in another stray person (something Burke has done in quite a few films, actually). The man is an alcoholic out of work actor (Joseph Schildkraut) and he overhears the family concocting a plot. It seems that their lives of luxury and privilege are about to change, as the money they were counting on in a will is NOT going to them after all...but to a stranger who has no idea she's an heiress. So the family concocts a scheme to cheat the lady out of what is rightfully hers so that they can continue living as they have.
The film never seems real and the characters never particularly believable or likable. Because of this, when they all inexplicably have a change of heart at the end, it seems bizarre and contrived. Not a horrible picture...but also one that could have used a re- write before filming began, as it's very talky, dull and didn't make a lot of sense.
When the film begin, the family matriarch (Burke) has taken in another stray person (something Burke has done in quite a few films, actually). The man is an alcoholic out of work actor (Joseph Schildkraut) and he overhears the family concocting a plot. It seems that their lives of luxury and privilege are about to change, as the money they were counting on in a will is NOT going to them after all...but to a stranger who has no idea she's an heiress. So the family concocts a scheme to cheat the lady out of what is rightfully hers so that they can continue living as they have.
The film never seems real and the characters never particularly believable or likable. Because of this, when they all inexplicably have a change of heart at the end, it seems bizarre and contrived. Not a horrible picture...but also one that could have used a re- write before filming began, as it's very talky, dull and didn't make a lot of sense.