According to The Phrase Finder, the term is about as old as silent movies themselves. Such films relied on the physical performances of the actors, and so silly chases, slapstick and other such visual aspects of storytelling were common. The 1929 novel “Hollywood Girl,” The Phrase Finder explains, includes a reference to this, in the simple direction: “Jannings escapes … cut to chase.” Author Joseph Patrick McEvoy, however, was referring to a literal chase.
Before the phrase “cut to the chase” adopted the meaning it holds today, a similar term seems to have arisen beside it: “Cut to Hecuba.” According to Michael Warwick’s 1968 article in “Stage,” titled ” ‘Theatrical Jargon of the Old Days” (via The Phrase Finder), a reference to Hecuba appears in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” As was the playwright’s wont, there was an awful lot of talk before Hecuba’s name pops up in Act 2. Cutting to Hecuba was, per Warwick, “an artifice employed by many old producers to shorten matinees by cutting out long speeches.”
As with the cinema industry today, viewers seek out movies that make them cry, laugh, applaud, and everything in between. They want to be entertained. Like a teacher battling to engage less-than-riveted students, movie-makers get the best results when they can keep their audience interested. How was this achieved? With fewer long, droning speeches. By cutting down on slower-paced moments. By cutting to the chase.
