Checkers (1937 film)  Checkers is a 1937 American drama film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and written by Robert Chapin, Karen DeWolf, Frank Fenton and Lynn Root. The film stars Jane Withers, Stuart Erwin, Una Merkel, Marvin Stephens, Andrew Tombes and June Carlson. The film was released on December 8, 1937, by 20th Century Fox. A veterinarian repairs a horse's leg so the animal can run in a big race and save a man's farm.