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.
"American Crime" and "Seven Seconds" star Regina King dishes on her Emmys experiences and the reason she'd choose directing over acting.
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Title: Cold Turkey (1971)
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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 | |
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Plot Summary
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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 »
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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
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IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
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(uncredited)
Written by Elmer Bernstein
Played on banjo in opening scene
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
The Christopher Mott Society is a parody of the ultra-right-wing John Birch Society. In the scene where the Mott society is meeting, they listen to a record album of a talk by a right-wing pundit; many right-wing pundits put out albums of their speeches in the 1960s and 1970s and widely distributed them for sale in friendly newspapers, since they could only afford to get radio time on low-power stations. See more »Goofs
Bishop Manley calls Dearborn, Michigan "General Motors country." Actually, Dearborn is the home of Ford Motor Company, its world headquarters and its flagship River Rouge plant. No GM facilities have been located in Dearborn. See more »Quotes
Edgar Stopworth: My drinking is directly connected to my smoking. Now, when I say "directly", I mean there's a thing - a physical thing - that is directly connected from my liquor buds to the smoke pouch in my lungs. If you want me to quit smoking, you would have to cut - I mean, you'd have to physically cut that thing! And when you do, my head's gonna fall off! Do you understand, reverman? The booze bone's connected to the smoke bone. And the smoke bone's connected to the head bone. and that's the word of the ...See more »
Soundtracks
Theme from The Magnificent Seven(uncredited)
Written by Elmer Bernstein
Played on banjo in opening scene
See more »
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I saw 'Cold Turkey' on TV back in 1978 or 1979 when I was eleven. Twenty-five years later I can still remember Bob Newhart's portrayal of the evil, wily tobacco executive and his motto "I believe in Wren." Even better was the little old lady in the pro-tobacco group who compared the organizers of the tobacco boycott to the troops who invaded Czechoslovskis in 1968. Dick Van Dyke was brilliant as the befuddled minister who had to put up with the everyone from larger-than-life TV anchormen and pot smoking hippies to evil tobacco executives. Norman Lear was way ahead of his time by using Randy Newman to write the soundtrack and I hope there are still copies of the movie on VHS or DVD.