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The Chaser (1938)

The Chaser (1938), directed by Edwin L. Marin, starring Dennis O'Keefe and Ann Morriss.

07/29/1938 BR Drama and Romance 1h 16m

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WATCH OUT for a gorgeous girl!

Synopsis

A sleazy lawyer gains clients by showing up at terrible accidents. His boss, determined to stop him, hires a pretty girl to cozy up and coerce the truth out of the ambulance-chaser. Unfortunately, the boss doesn't count on the romance factor and sure enough, love blossoms between the girl and the shyster.

  • Charles Lawton Jr.Cinematography
  • Edwin L. MarinDirector
  • George BoemlerEditing
  • Frank DavisProducer

About the film

The Chaser is a 1938 American comedy drama film directed by Edwin L. Marin and starring Dennis O'Keefe and Lewis Stone.

Read the full article (2k characters)

The Chaser is a 1938 American comedy drama film directed by Edwin L. Marin and starring Dennis O'Keefe and Lewis Stone.

Plot

An ambulance chaser, unethical and disliked by many, attorney Thomas Z. Brandon chases cases in the street, offering to represent clients on trumped-up charges.

A street-car company's owner, Calhoun, resents this practice and hires Dorothy Mason to go undercover to gain evidence against the attorney, pretending to be an accident victim. She sees how a doctor, Prescott, manipulates a client into memorizing certain false information to use in court.

Dorothy learns that Thomas has a good explanation why he's doing this and that Calhoun is actually unscrupulous himself. She perjures herself in court, and Thomas spurns her after learning of her deceit, but ultimately they fall in love and Thomas promises to act more ethically from now on.

Cast

Dennis O'Keefe as Thomas Z. Brandon

Ann Morriss as Dorothy Mason

Lewis Stone as Dr. Prescott

Nat Pendleton as "Floppy" Phil

Henry O'Neill as Calhoun

Ruth Gillette as Mrs. Olson

John Qualen as Lars

Robert Emmett Keane as Simon Kelly

Jack Mulhall as Joe

Irving Bacon as Harvey

Pierre Watkin as Mr. Beaumont

Reception

According to MGM records the movie earned $220,000 in the US and Canada and $102,000 elsewhere, making a $27,000 profit. Profits might have been greater, but Lewis Stone's association with his Judge Hardy MGM roles proved to be a drawback: "there were so many complaints from the ticket buyers about the fine old judge degrading himself that the studio had to yank the film from circulation at a cost of maybe $150,000 in profits."

References

External links

The Chaser at IMDb

The Chaser at the TCM Movie Database (archived)

The Chaser at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films

Text from The Chaser (1938 film) on Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chaser_(1938_film)

Trivia

Production

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Questions about this film

What is The Chaser about?

The Chaser: A sleazy lawyer gains clients by showing up at terrible accidents. His boss, determined to stop him, hires a pretty girl to cozy up and coerce the truth out of the ambulance-chaser. Unfortunately, the boss doesn't count on the romance factor and sure enough, love blossoms between the girl and the shyster.

Who directed The Chaser?

The Chaser was directed by Edwin L. Marin in 1938.

Who stars in The Chaser?

The cast of The Chaser includes Dennis O'Keefe, Ann Morriss, Lewis Stone, Nat Pendleton and Henry O'Neill.

How long is The Chaser?

The Chaser runs for 76 minutes, or 1h16.

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Page updated on 09/15/2026.

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Scene from The Chaser