The Cheat (1915 film)

The Cheat is a 1915 film about a woman who steals charity money in order to invest it in stocks. When she loses the money, she turns to a wealthy Japanese man for help, and he takes possession of her body as collateral. It stars Fannie Ward, Jack Dean and Sessue Hayakawa and was written by Jeanie Macpherson and Hector Turnbull, and directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The film has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

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The Cheat (whose name is "The Cheat", with the grammatical article) is Strong Bad's partner in crime. He's a little furry yellow creature who, true to his name, is always looking for a way to cheat, or to help someone else on a scheme. His appearance has been described as a cross between a Pikachu, a wedge of cheese, and an anvil. The Cheat speaks entirely in a language of high-pitched squeaks and growls, which Strong Bad can understand. The Cheat is most often seen hanging around Strong Mad, who, it is claimed, helps protect him from large predators.

The Cheat uses his computer (an iMac lookalike) to makes music videos and sketches for the other characters. In fact, The Cheat's computer happens to be the most powerful computer in the Homestar Runner world. As Strong Bad once commented after attempting to open his e-mail by typing "strongbad_email.exe" over and over, "Your computer is too much computer and too little typewriter."

The Cheat's animation is drawn in its own distinctively crude style. Some sources say it is the animation style used by The Brothers Chaps before they settled on the current design.