Hoping for positive publicity, a tobacco company offers $25 million to any American town that quits smoking for 30 days. Amidst a media frenzy, Eagle Rock, Iowa accepts the challenge while the company's PR man tries to sabotage the effort.
Get the best new trailers in under a minute, including Pokémon Detective Pikachu and Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle.
User Lists
Related lists from IMDb users
Share this Rating
Title: Cold Turkey (1971)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
Learn more
More Like This
Fitzwilly
(1967)
Comedy
|
Romance
Director:
Delbert Mann
Stars:
Dick Van Dyke,
Barbara Feldon,
John McGiver
Divorce American Style
(1967)
Comedy
Director:
Bud Yorkin
Stars:
Dick Van Dyke,
Debbie Reynolds,
Jason Robards
Some Kind of a Nut
(1969)
Certificate: M
Comedy
Director:
Garson Kanin
Stars:
Dick Van Dyke,
Angie Dickinson,
Rosemary Forsyth
Comedy
|
Drama
Director:
Will Slocombe
Stars:
Alicia Witt,
Cheryl Hines,
Sonya Walger
The Morning After
(TV Movie 1974)
Drama
Director:
Richard T. Heffron
Stars:
Dick Van Dyke,
Lynn Carlin,
Don Porter
Banacek
(1972–1974)
Crime
|
Drama
|
Mystery
Stars:
George Peppard,
Ralph Manza,
Murray Matheson
The Comic
(1969)
Certificate: M
Drama
|
Comedy
Director:
Carl Reiner
Stars:
Dick Van Dyke,
Michele Lee,
Mickey Rooney
The Runner Stumbles
(1979)
Drama
Director:
Stanley Kramer
Stars:
Dick Van Dyke,
Kathleen Quinlan,
Maureen Stapleton
Edit
Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Dick Van Dyke | ... | Rev. Clayton Brooks | |
| Pippa Scott | ... | Natalie Brooks | |
| Tom Poston | ... | Mr. Stopworth | |
| Edward Everett Horton | ... | Hiram C. Grayson | |
| Bob Elliott | ... | Hugh Upson / David Chetley / Sandy Van Andy (as Bob) | |
| Ray Goulding | ... | Walter Chronic / Paul Hardly / Arthur Lordly (as Ray) | |
| Vincent Gardenia | ... | Mayor Quincey L. Wappler | |
| Barnard Hughes | ... | Dr. Proctor | |
| Graham Jarvis | ... | Amos Bush | |
| Jean Stapleton | ... | Mrs. Wappler | |
| Barbara Cason | ... | Letitia Hornsby | |
| Judith Lowry | ... | Odie Turman | |
| Sudie Bond | ... | Cissy | |
 |
Helen Page Camp | ... | Mrs. Watson |
| Paul Benedict | ... | Zen Buddhist | |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
See All (37) »
Storyline
Reverend Brooks leads the town in a contest to stop smoking for a month, But some tobacco executives don't want them to win, and try everything they can to make them smoke. If townspeople don't go nuts from wanting a cigarette, or kill each other from irritation and frustration, they will win a huge prize. Written by Brian W Martz <B.Martz@Genie.com>
Plot Keywords:
iowa | contest | publicity | breaking the fourth wall | slapstick comedy |Taglines:
What happens when an evil tobacco company offers $25,000,000 to an entire town to stop smoking for thirty days? What happens when 4,006 heavy smokers from Eagle Rock, Iowa take up the challenge? See more »Genres:
ComedyMotion Picture Rating (MPAA)
Rated PG-13 for smoking content throughout and brief strong language | See all certifications »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
Edit
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
19 February 1971 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Der 25 Millionen Dollar Preis See more »Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
Edit
Wren: Must've - must've got my wires crossed somewhere.
Tobacco Executive: Now you'll say they won't go through with it.
Wren: Bottom line? Never.
Tobacco Executive: How do you know they won't smoke and hide out? How do you know that, Wren?
Wren: Well, they, uh... they took an oath. On, uh, like, a bible.
Tobacco Executive: We didn't think it was on a slab of bacon.
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Dropping the cigarettes onto the crowd, in the last midnight town square gathering, was actually done by putting 8" diameter, 25'-long pipes against the trees in the town square. The pipes were then filled with cigarettes. Then, on cue, air was blasted into the pipe bottom, shooting them into the air and onto the crowd. After each take everyone was asked to gather up the cigarettes from the ground and turn them in so they could be reloaded into the cigarette canons and rained down again. The filming of this final scene took several weeks in the late fall in Iowa where it is pretty cold. In the movie it is supposed to be summer time so the actresses are dressed in summer dresses. In between takes everyone (actors and extras) were huddled in winter coats sucking on ice cubes. The ice cubes kept their mouth and breath cold so they wouldn't steam when they breathed. See more »Goofs
While the whole town does sign the 30-day non-smoking pledge, unless there was a wall around the town to shut people in, nothing prevents people from traveling to other nearby towns and smoking there, then returning to Eagle Rock. See more »Quotes
Tobacco Executive: You said no town in America would sign up.Wren: Must've - must've got my wires crossed somewhere.
Tobacco Executive: Now you'll say they won't go through with it.
Wren: Bottom line? Never.
Tobacco Executive: How do you know they won't smoke and hide out? How do you know that, Wren?
Wren: Well, they, uh... they took an oath. On, uh, like, a bible.
Tobacco Executive: We didn't think it was on a slab of bacon.
See more »
Frequently Asked Questions
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
Enjoy a night in with these popular movies available to stream now with Prime Video.
Much like "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World", "Cold Turkey" shows how crazy people can get when they're greedy. The plot centers on a town whose people are offered a lot of money if they can stop smoking for an entire month. They agree after getting convinced by the local clergyman (Dick Van Dyke), but things start going crazy when they don't get to have their cigarettes.
The movie also pokes fun at the media, with characters like "Hugh Upson" and "Walter Chronic". But overall, the movie makes fun of the "wholesome Middle America" image, showing how even seemingly idealistic small town folk can get corrupted when money is in the picture.