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 (Joseph Schildkraut), an actor injured in a car accident at the height of his career 10 years before, who is now a broken-down drunk.

After bribing the sole executor, J.C. conspires to limit the search to just placing newspaper ads for a week without mentioning the inheritance.

Reggie worries about a blackmail attempt, but Marchand makes a seemingly heartfelt speech about honor and his gratitude to the Pidgeons.

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.

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.

[3] 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.

[4] In a later review, film critic and historian Leonard Maltin was much more charitable: "Excellent cast in enjoyable tale of wealthy family of snobs humanized by downtrodden actor they invite for Christmas dinner.