diff --git a/dtool/src/dtoolutil/filename.I b/dtool/src/dtoolutil/filename.I
index 56ba90d838..c777667351 100644
--- a/dtool/src/dtoolutil/filename.I
+++ b/dtool/src/dtoolutil/filename.I
@@ -594,7 +594,7 @@ operator < (const std::string &other) const {
  */
 INLINE int Filename::
 compare_to(const Filename &other) const {
-  return strcmp(_filename.c_str(), other._filename.c_str());
+  return _filename.compare(other._filename);
 }