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Quiz Show is a 1994 film which tells the true story of the Twenty One quiz show scandal of the 1950s. It stars John Turturro, Rob Morrow, Ralph Fiennes, Paul Scofield, David Paymer, Hank Azaria, and Christopher McDonald. The film chronicles the rise and fall of the popular contestant Charles Van Doren (played by Fiennes) after the rigged loss of Herb Stempel (played by Turturro) to Van Doren and Congressional investigator Richard N. (Dick) Goodwin's probe of Twenty-One's game fixing. Goodwin, portrayed by Morrow, is also one of the co-producers of the film. Mira Sorvino also appears in the film, as Goodwin's wife Sandra. Image File history File linksMetadata QuizShowPoster. ...
Robert Redford (born Charles Robert Redford, Jr. ...
Robert Redford (born Charles Robert Redford, Jr. ...
Michael Jacobs has written for Broadway, Off-Broadway and television. ...
Richard N. Goodwin was an advisor and speechwriter to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson and to Senator Robert Kennedy. ...
Paul Attanasio is an American screenwriter and producer of film and television, who is currently an executive producer on the television series House. ...
John Michael Turturro (born February 28, 1957) is an Emmy Award-winning Italian-American film and stage actor noted for his performances in To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), The Color of Money (1986), Five Corners (1987), Men of Respect (1991), Monday Night Mayhem (1999), Secret Window (2004...
Rob Morrow Rob Morrow (born September 21, 1962 in New Rochelle, New York) is an American actor currently starring in the television program Numb3rs. ...
Ralph Nathaniel Fiennes, (IPA: ), born 22 December 1962) is a Tony Award-winning, Academy Award-nominated and Genie Award-nominated British actor. ...
Mark Isham (born September 7, 1951 in New York City) is an American trumpeter, synthesist, and composer. ...
Michael Ballhaus (born 5 August 1935, Eichelsdorf, Lower Franconia, Bavaria, Germany) is a German cinematographer and director of photography. ...
The Hollywood Pictures sphinx logo Hollywood Pictures is one of The Walt Disney Companys several alternate movie labels. ...
is the 257th day of the year (258th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar). ...
The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...
Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar). ...
Twenty One host Jack Barry (center), with contestants Vivienne Nearing and Charles Van Doren Twenty One was an American game show. ...
The American quiz show scandals of the 1950s were the result of the revelation that contestants of several popular television quiz shows were secretly given assistance by the producers to arrange the outcome of a supposed competition. ...
John Michael Turturro (born February 28, 1957) is an Emmy Award-winning Italian-American film and stage actor noted for his performances in To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), The Color of Money (1986), Five Corners (1987), Men of Respect (1991), Monday Night Mayhem (1999), Secret Window (2004...
Rob Morrow Rob Morrow (born September 21, 1962 in New Rochelle, New York) is an American actor currently starring in the television program Numb3rs. ...
Ralph Nathaniel Fiennes, (IPA: ), born 22 December 1962) is a Tony Award-winning, Academy Award-nominated and Genie Award-nominated British actor. ...
David Paul Scofield, CH, CBE (born 21 January 1922) is a British actor who was born in Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, England. ...
David Paymer (born 30 August 1954) is an American character actor, seen in such films as The In-Laws, Crazy People, State and Main, Payback, Get Shorty, Armistad, Carpool, City Hall, and Into the West. ...
Hank Albert Azaria (born April 25, 1964 in Queens, New York) is a four-time Emmy Award-winning American actor, comedian and voice artist. ...
Christopher McDonald Christopher McDonald (born February 15, 1955 in New York City, New York, USA) is an American actor. ...
Charles Lincoln Van Doren (born February 12, 1926) is an American intellectual and former TV quiz show contestant. ...
Herb Stempel (born December 19, 1926) is a television game show contestant who became famous for his participation in the 1950s show Twenty One, where he had a suspiciously long run of wins in 1956, and for his eventual exposure of what became known as the Quiz show scandals. ...
Richard N. Goodwin was an advisor and speechwriter to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson and to Senator Robert Kennedy. ...
Mira Katherine Sorvino (born September 28, 1967 in Tenafly, New Jersey) is an Academy Award-winning American actress. ...
The movie was adapted by Paul Attanasio from Goodwin's book Remembering America. It was produced and directed by Robert Redford. Paul Attanasio is an American screenwriter and producer of film and television, who is currently an executive producer on the television series House. ...
Robert Redford (born Charles Robert Redford, Jr. ...
Cast
Hank Albert Azaria (born April 25, 1964 in Queens, New York) is a four-time Emmy Award-winning American actor, comedian and voice artist. ...
Johann Carlo, date unknown Johann Carlo was born in Buffalo, New York on May 21, 1957. ...
Thomas Griffin Dunne (born June 8, 1955 in New York, New York) is an American actor and film director. ...
Ralph Nathaniel Fiennes, (IPA: ), born 22 December 1962) is a Tony Award-winning, Academy Award-nominated and Genie Award-nominated British actor. ...
Paul Guilfoyle (born April 28, 1948) is an American television and film actor known for playing Captain Jim Brass in the popular forensic television drama CSI. Guilfoyle was born in Canton, Massachusetts. ...
Sir George Henry Martin CBE (born 3 January 1926 in Highbury, London, England) is sometimes referred to as the fifth Beatle—a title that he owes to his work as producer of almost all of The Beatles records. ...
For other uses, see Christopher McDonald (disambiguation) Christopher McDonald (b. ...
Rob Morrow Rob Morrow (born September 21, 1962 in New Rochelle, New York) is an American actor currently starring in the television program Numb3rs. ...
David Paymer (born 30 August 1954) is an American character actor, seen in such films as The In-Laws, Crazy People, State and Main, Payback, Get Shorty, Armistad, Carpool, City Hall, and Into the West. ...
David Paul Scofield, CH, CBE (born 21 January 1922) is a British actor who was born in Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, England. ...
Mira Katherine Sorvino (born September 28, 1967 in Tenafly, New Jersey) is an Academy Award-winning American actress. ...
John Michael Turturro (born February 28, 1957) is an Emmy Award-winning Italian-American film and stage actor noted for his performances in To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), The Color of Money (1986), Five Corners (1987), Men of Respect (1991), Monday Night Mayhem (1999), Secret Window (2004...
Elizabeth Wilson (born April 4, 1921) is a Tony Award-winning American actress. ...
Awards Quiz Show was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Paul Scofield), Best Director, Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay Paul Attanasio. Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony in the world. ...
The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is one of the awards given to male actors working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ...
The Academy Award for Directing is one of the awards given to directors working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. ...
// The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Academy Awards, awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which are voted on by others within the industry. ...
The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. ...
Paul Attanasio is an American screenwriter and producer of film and television, who is currently an executive producer on the television series House. ...
Summary The movie follows the events surrounding the Quiz show scandals of the 1950s, focusing on the intertwining stories of the three protagonists, clean-cut All-American intellectual Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes), boisterous, unpolished ex-GI Herbert Stempel (John Turturro), and the idealistic Congressional lawyer assigned to investigate Twenty One, Richard Goodwin (Rob Morrow). The American quiz show scandals of the 1950s were the result of the revelation that contestants of several popular television quiz shows were secretly given assistance by the producers to arrange the outcome of a supposedly fair competition. ...
Charles Lincoln Van Doren (born February 12, 1926) is an American intellectual and former TV quiz show contestant. ...
Herb Stempel is a television game show contestant who became famous for his participation in Twenty One, where he had a suspiciously long run of wins. ...
Categories: Possible copyright violations ...
The film begins with lawyer Richard Goodwin admiring a brand new Chrysler, wondering aloud, even as the dealer highlights the various features of the luxury car, if the pursuit of money and material goods is what truly matters most in 50's America. The scene then switches to the premiere of a new episode of the game show Twenty One, and follows the quiz questions as they are taken from a secure bank vault into the television studio. Studio producers Dan Enright (David Paymer) and Albert Freedman (Hank Azaria) watch from the control booth as host Jack Barry (Christopher McDonald) prepares for the show. The evening's main attraction is Queens resident Herbert Stempel, who, despite his less than flattering appearance, is the reigning Twenty One champion. As Stempel answers question after question, even after the producers order the air conditioning turned off in his enclosed booth and he begins to sweat profusely, word filters down from show sponsor Geritol all the way to Enright - Stempel is old news. The sponsor wants a new contestant.
Herb Stempel remains optimistic about his situation, and returns home to find his neighborhood turned out to congratulate him. He remarks to his wife Toby that he might go on doing the show forever, earning them enough money to finally quit their dependency on Toby's overbearing mother. Enright and Freedman, meanwhile, search for a contestant to defeat Stempel, one who embodies the All-American image they've been looking for. They find their new champion in Columbia professor Charles Van Doren (Fiennes), son of renowned intellectual Mark Van Doren (Paul Scofield) and prize-winning novelist Dorothy Van Doren (Elizabeth Wilson). Van Doren is American royalty, sophisticated and accomplished enough to provide the hero to Stempel's unwashed, egghead villain, and, despite trying out for a different quiz show, is talked into doing Twenty One. Enright and Freedman promise Van Doren he will advance the cause of American education, and offer to rig the show for him. The upright Van Doren refuses, believing the offer is part of a test. Enright treats Stempel to dinner at an upscale restaurant, where he breaks the news that, because of flagging ratings, Stempel must lose to Van Doren. Stempel immediately protests, and it is revealed that Enright provided him with the answers to the questions, although he agrees to play along after Enright promises he will be offered a spot on a panel show after his loss, provided he plays along.
The two contestants both perform admirably during the first few rounds in a montage of questions, however, late in the game, Stempel still leads 18-11. He then takes the category Movies, for three points, and it is at this point he is offered the question Enright ordered he take a fall on- "Which Motion Picture won the Academy Award for 1955?" Knowing the correct answer, Stempel wrestles with his conscience until finally, following through with the network plan, he answers incorrectly. Van Doren is then given a chance to win, and is asked a question he previously answered while in Enright's offices, one the producers know he will get right. Van Doren also wrestles with his conscience until finally, overwhelmed by all that might lie ahead, he answers correctly. Van Doren is the new champion.
In the weeks that follow, Van Doren rises to national stardom. He appears on the covers of Life and Time, rises to the position of the most well-known professor at Columbia, and is even recognized by people on the street. He wins show after show, and his clean cut image provokes a newfound interest in learning around the country. However, buckling under the pressure, he begins to let Enright and Freedman feed him the answers. Stempel sinks back into relative obscurity after blowing his sizable reward money on questionable business ventures, and begins threatening legal action after Enright reneges on his previous offer of a spot on a panel show. Enter Richard Goodwin, top of his class at Harvard Law, who travels to New York to investigate the possibility of rigged quiz shows. Visiting both Stempel and Van Doren, he holds a sneaking suspicion that Twenty One is not on the level; however Stempel is too volatile to use as a key witness and nobody else seems to corroborate his story. Goodwin also meets Van Doren, who treats him to a dinner at his parents' estate and invites him to his weekly poker game. The two become friends despite their differences (Goodwin is Jewish, and, despite graduating from Harvard, comes from an unimposing background, while Van Doren is the privileged son of a wealthy family). With the pressure finally getting to him, Van Doren loses to challenger Vivian Nearing (much like Stempel, on a question he knew the answer to) but is offered a sizable contract from NBC to appear on television promoting culture around America. He earns over a hundred thousand dollars from the show. Goodwin, meanwhile, goes ahead with congressional hearings after meeting a former Twenty One contestant who, upon receiving the questions and answers, mailed them to himself before the show's taping. Goodwin amasses a large amount of evidence against Twenty One, but before he leaves, advises Van Doren to avoid making public statements supporting the show. If he does this, Goodwin promises, he will not be called to appear before the committee investigating the scandals.
The final part of the film deals with each of the three major characters wrestling with their consciences in the pursuit of justice. Stempel must deal with his hypocrisy, as he also benefited from receiving the Quiz Show answers, as well as his lies to his wife and son. Goodwin argues with his wife Sandra (Mira Sorvino) over whether he has a responsibility to bring Van Doren to justice. Van Doren finds himself seduced by fame, signing a statement reaffirming his trust in the legality of the quiz shows upon the prompting of the network head (Allan Rich). Goodwin is forced to call Van Doren in for questioning, who then admits his guilt to his father. Goodwin, seemingly on the verge of a victory against Geritol and the networks, realizes that Enright and Freedman will not implicate their bosses in the conspiracy, preferring a few years of persecution in the eyes of the American public to a lifetime of exile by corporations. Van Doren does admit his role in the conspiracy, and is told by reporters of the University's decision to ask for his resignation. Stempel, vindicated at long last, finds himself berating the reporters who now harass Van Doren ("You never leave a guy alone unless you're leaving him alone!") while Goodwin remains stone-faced as he watches Enright and Freedman testify that their sponsors and NBC had no knowledge of the quiz show corruption. Mira Katherine Sorvino (born September 28, 1967 in Tenafly, New Jersey) is an Academy Award-winning American actress. ...
The film is the first major picture based on the 1950s controversy that rocked American television and nearly led to the ruination of quiz-show producers Jack Barry (who was also Twenty-One host and here played by McDonald) and Dan Enright (Paymer). Its attention to period detail include using New York exteriors to re-create 1950s scenes, and using many New York and New Jersey indoor spaces to replicate the NBC studios and Washington governmental facilities of the times. Fordham University was used to replicate the 1950s Columbia University, where Van Doren taught English. Jack Barry (March 20, 1918 – May 4, 1984) was an American television game show host and producer, whose career was nearly ruined in the quiz show scandal of the late 1950s but who made a remarkable comeback over a decade later. ...
Daniel Enright (August 30, 1917 - May 22, 1992) was one of the most successful game show producers in American television. ...
Fordham University is a private, coeducational research university[2] in the United States, with three residential campuses located in and around New York City. ...
Columbia University is a private research university in the United States and a member of the prestigious Ivy League. ...
Historical comparison While the movie purports to portray real events, it has been widely criticized for taking liberties to create its own heroes and villains. The movie has investigator Goodwin starting his pursuit of Van Doren during the contestant's 1957 run on Twenty-One, when in fact the Congressional investigation led by Goodwin came in the summer of 1959. Others have complained that it inflates Goodwin's role in the probe and underplays the initial investigation, led by prosecutor Joseph Stone from the office of New York County District Attorney Frank Hogan. It was after a judge sealed from public release the New York Grand Jury presentment of findings in the probe (in June 1959) that Congress launched its investigation. For other uses, see Manhattan (disambiguation). ...
The movie implies that NBC conveyed to Enright the desires of Twenty-One sponsor Geritol that Stempel be replaced, with network president Bob Kintner (played by Allan Rich) telling Enright "You're a producer, Dan. Produce." Neither Kintner nor NBC were ever implicated in the scandal, and in fact, NBC actually cancelled the show when they heard about the scandal, but Enright has said that Geritol's complaints about the lack of drama and suspense in the unrigged premiere episode prompted Enright and his business partner, co-producer and emcee Jack Barry, to rig the show. The movie also fails to acknowledge the rigging practices of other quiz shows such as The $64,000 Question, Dotto, and Barry & Enright's own Tic Tac Dough. Geritol is the name of an American vitamin and mineral supplement. ...
Journalist Ken Auletta, in a 1994 article in The New Yorker, noted that at a screening of the film that summer, Redford admitted "dramatic license" was taken in making Quiz Show. But Auletta also reported that Redford made no apologies for the liberties, saying he had tried "to elevate something so that people can see it...otherwise, you might as well have a documentary." Redford noted there had already been a documentary on the scandal, referring to the Julian Krainin-produced work for a 1991 installment of the PBS series The American Experience. (Krainin, like Goodwin, is a co-producer of Quiz Show.) Ken Auletta is a U.S. journalist from Brooklyn, New York, who has written over 10 books, several of which have become NY Times best-sellers. ...
The New Yorker is an American magazine that publishes reportage, criticism, essays, cartoons, poetry and fiction. ...
Not to be confused with Public Broadcasting Services in Malta. ...
American Experience (sometimes abbreviated AmEx) is a television program airing on the PBS network in the United States. ...
Trivia - Martin Scorsese is in the cast, as Martin Rittenhome from the company that sponsors Twenty-One.
- Herb Stempel makes a cameo in the film.
Martin Marcantonio Luciano Scorsese (IPA: AmE: ; Ita: []) (born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, writer and producer and founder of the World Cinema Foundation. ...
Herb Stempel (born December 19, 1926) is a television game show contestant who became famous for his participation in the 1950s show Twenty One, where he had a suspiciously long run of wins in 1956, and for his eventual exposure of what became known as the Quiz show scandals. ...
See also - List of Films about Television
External links Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Quiz Show |
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