Quiz Show (1994)

Dick Goodwin discovers game shows are fixed: Charles Van Doren is fed answers so he beats Herbie Stempel.

Director:

Robert Redford

Writers:

Paul Attanasio (screenplay), Richard N. Goodwin (book)

Stars:

John Turturro, Rob Morrow, Ralph Fiennes

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Turturro	...	Herbie Stempel
Rob Morrow	...	Dick Goodwin
Ralph Fiennes	...	Charles Van Doren
Paul Scofield	...	Mark Van Doren
David Paymer	...	Dan Enright
Hank Azaria	...	Albert Freedman
Christopher McDonald	...	Jack Barry
Johann Carlo	...	Toby Stempel
Elizabeth Wilson	...	Dorothy Van Doren
Allan Rich	...	Robert Kintner
Mira Sorvino	...	Sandra Goodwin
George Martin	...	Chairman
Paul Guilfoyle	...	Lishman
Griffin Dunne	...	Account Guy
Michael Mantell	...	Pennebaker

Storyline

An idealistic young lawyer working for a Congressional subcommittee in the late 1950s discovers that TV quiz shows are being fixed. His investigation focuses on two contestants on the show "Twenty-One": Herbert Stempel, a brash working-class Jew from Queens, and Charles Van Doren, the patrician scion of one of America's leading literary families. Based on a true story.

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Plot Keywords:

television | columbia university | 1950s | fraud | investigation | 

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Taglines:

Fifty million people watched, but no one saw a thing.

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some strong language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 September 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kviz

Filming Locations:

Bronx, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$24,822,619 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Baltimore Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, Wildwood Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

133 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally devised as a project for Richard Dreyfuss, with Harold Becker directing.

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Goofs

The Thistle Class One sailboat is rigged with specialty Harken blocks (pulleys), which were introduced in the 1990s.

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Quotes

Mark Van Doren: [reciting poetry at his birthday party] Now see summer bloom upon this lee, three score rings around this tree, once green, now bare, once lush, now sere, consoled only that I am planted here...
John Van Doren: You certainly are!
Mark Van Doren: Roots thick...
Thomas Merton, The Monk: And bold...
Mark Van Doren: And deep...
John Van Doren: And doddering...
Mark Van Doren: Assuage my woes...
Bunny Wilson: And termites nibbling at my toes!
Mark Van Doren: Et tu, Bunny!

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Crazy Credits

After years in exile, Dan Enright and Jack Barry returned to television with "The Joker's Wild". It made them millionaires.

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Connections

Featured in MST3K Little Gold Statue Preview Special (1995)

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Soundtracks

"MORITAT"
Written by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht
Performed by Lyle Lovett
Lyle Lovett appears courtesy of Curb Music Company and MCA Records

User Reviews

Fantastic film, phenomenal performances

It would be pretty surprising if Quiz Show, Robert Redford's film about the 1950's quiz show scandals was anything short of excellent. The principal actors give phenomenal performances: Fiennes' Van Doren is usually unflappable and cold, but manages to allow vulnerability to surface at times, and Turturro's Stempel is a study in almost sociopathic and manic behavior. What allows both actors to transcend mere greatness is their ability to make the viewer both admire and detest their characters with something as subtle as a glance or body language. Morrow's character of the `whistle-blower' is there as the moral fiber; the outsider who looks upon the situation both with objectivity and as the devil's advocate.

Redford's direction is rich and well-paced. There were not any slow moments in the film, and he did not have to adhere to rapid-fire editing to achieve the momentum of the film. Perhaps the subject matter is a factor, but I have found that with the exception of `Ordinary People', the films I have seen under Redford's direction have been good in a technical respect but lean toward the maudlin. With Quiz Show, he does what should be done when telling a true story – he does not resort to preaching, rather he directs with an objectivity that allows the viewer to come to their own conclusions.

Quiz Show is an excellent film that I highly recommend, especially to see the razor-sharp performances of Fiennes and Turturro.

--Shelly