diff --git a/railties/lib/dispatcher.rb b/railties/lib/dispatcher.rb
index de6b55421911664f6dc5cc4dc3aba6e8de317847..fd39b1991b4b3deddfe43405cdb94087a4771957 100644
--- a/railties/lib/dispatcher.rb
+++ b/railties/lib/dispatcher.rb
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ def dispatch(cgi = nil, session_options = ActionController::CgiRequest::DEFAULT_
       end
     rescue Exception => exception  # errors from CGI dispatch
       failsafe_response(cgi, output, '500 Internal Server Error', exception) do
-        controller ||= ApplicationController rescue ActionController::Base
+        controller ||= (ApplicationController rescue ActionController::Base)
         controller.process_with_exception(request, response, exception).out(output)
       end
     ensure