When aristocrat James C. Pidgeon (Eugene Pallette) runs into money trouble, he thinks his dying uncle’s fortune will save him, only to find out that it has been left to an unnamed actress. While lawyers search for the actress, James’ daughter (Ruth Terry) convinces him to invite a destitute man, Mr. M., to Christmas dinner to appear generous. The man turns out to be a former actor (Joseph Schildkraut) who is also able to locate the mysterious actress heir, Florie Watson (Ona Munson).
If you’re looking for an slightly offbeat Christmas movie with the right message, look no further than this underrated gem from the mid-1940s. The plot spins around cheating a good-hearted working-class woman out of her inheritance, and everyone learns about the true meaning of Christmas before it is over. – Amazon reviewer
This was one of those movies that played around Christmas time faithfully about 30 years ago, along with “Christmas in Connecticut”, “The Bishop’s Wife” and the 1930’s American version of “A Christmas Carol”. It’s the story of a spoiled rich family headed by the sweet, if ineffectual, Billie Burke as the mother and the blustering, if ineffectual, Eugene Pallette as the father. Their eldest daughter brings home a homeless man, the wonderful Joseph Schildkraut, for all the wrong reasons. Their frenetic, shallow lives play out in front of him as he eventually teaches them the true meaning of the holidays and family while learning a little from them, too. I love that the daughter brings him home strictly to aggravate and challenge her parents and impress her boyfriend, a soldier. Her parents respond with disdain and nervous tolerance, attitudes that certainly haven’t changed since this movie was made. What has changed and what is lost is the plush sets of the 1930’s and early 1940’s and the old comedic style of films like these. And the fact that it is a family movie (yes, one that will entertain you and that your kids may enjoy in spite of themselves) makes it worth the money to add this to your holiday viewing. – Amazon reviewer
Before A Christmas Carol, It’s a Wonderful Life, White Christmas and a Christmas Story, came to the forefront of the cannon of hoilday movies. There was “The Cheaters”. It was, (when I was young) shown either on Christmas eve, or New Years eve. It is sort of a modern take on a Christmas Carol. It was about greed and self realization. As well redemption. – Amazon reviewer
Starring Joseph Schildkraut, Billie Burke, Eugene Pallette, Ruth Terry, Ona Munson.
Note: This is a hard-to-find period film set in the Postwar era.
You may also be interested in [Christmas Eve (1947](http://amzn.to/1OSeD34)) – it’s also a story of a fortune hanging in the balance, full of classic melodrama: “The greedy nephew of eccentric Maltilda Reid seeks to have her judged incompetent so he can administer her wealth; but she will be saved if her three long-lost adopted sons appear for a Christmas Eve reunion. Separate stories reveal Michael as a bankrupt playboy loved by loyal Ann; Mario as a seemingly shady character tangling with a Nazi war criminal in South America; Jonathan as a hard-drinking rodeo rider intent on a flirtations social worker. Is there hope for Matilda?” Starring Ann Harding. George Raft, Randolph Scott, Reginald Denny, George Brent.