Quiz Show (1994)

TIP OF THE ICEBERG

Considering the quality of this film, one would think that it should have won more awards,more acclaim. One factor might have been that anyone under the age of 46 in 1994 would have had little or no recollection of the television scandals which "broke" in 1959. Secondly, since there were no laws pertaining to television ethics, nobody went to jail. Indeed,years later, the "Bobsey Twins"- Jack Barry and Dan Enright were right back at it again making handsome sums on "The Joker's Wild". Additionally, let's not forget that "21" was only the tip of the iceberg.Quickly, "The $64,000 Question", "Tic-Tac-Dough"(another Enright,N.B.C. debacle), and "Dotto" soon came crashing down, one upon another. Finally, Bob Kittner's remark of television being a great educational tool could easily have become reality had there been a market for it. Instead, by 1961 F.C.C. chairman Newton Minnow was already labeling television "a vast wasteland", and by the late 60's we had Richard Nixon pulling the plug on Federal funding for P.B.S.due to alleged "liberal broadcasting". Sound familiar? Given yet another chance to become an educated society with the advent of the computer, instead we see S.A.T. scores again trending lower, perhaps in part due to computer games, pornography, lack of adult supervision,injurious adult supervision,and just plain stupidity. Never mind the excellence of "Quiz Show", nor the uniformly solid performances of a producer and actors of whom we expect the best. Be advised instead to salvage what we have left outside of the movies.

November 28, 2007

Wonderful.

Quiz Show (Robert Redford, 1994)

The brilliance of Robert Redford's Quiz Show is related, in retrospect, in the film's opening sequence, where Dick Goodwin (Northern Exposure's Rob Morrow) is considering buying a car. The effect of the scene is completely lost the first time you see the film; go back and watch it again once you've got a handle on everything that goes on. That's why Robert Redford is a fantastic director, and Quiz Show is a fantastic film.

Based on the true story of the Twenty-One scandal, Quiz Show opens with Brooklyn geek Herb Stempel (Rounders' John Turturro) as the undisputed king of TV quiz show Twenty-One. The producers of the show are looking for someone to replace him, since the ratings are starting to get stale, and they happen upon Charles van Doren (Ralph Fiennes, recently seen in the Harry Potter movies), literature professor from the bluest blood to be found west of the Atlantic. As van Doren is being prepped for the show, Albert Freedman (Hank Azaria), one of its producers, casually asks how he'd feel about them asking him questions they're aware he already knows the answers to. From there, the movie degenerates into a morass of corruption and conscience unequaled in fiction; like the man said, you just can't make this stuff up.

The movie was pretty much destined for success. Redford was already well-known as an excellent director. Scriptwriter and (uncredited) producer Barry Levinson were at the very beginnings of the rides of their respective lives with Homicide: Life on the Street. The entire cast is full of stars (and a few director cameos); about the least-known name on the list, at the time, was Mira Sorvino, whose big break came the next year. This is a movie that had everything going for it from day one. It still amazes me how often you can say that about a movie that ends up crashing and burning, but Quiz Show is not one of those movies. The acting and script are, of course, exceptional, as is Redford's direction. The pacing is phenomenal, even more impressive given the movies two-hour-plus running time (common in other countries, but almost unheard-of in America). At least two critics have called it one of the thousand best films ever made (it made both the Guardian list and Peter Travers' list for Rolling Stone), and there is certainly some merit to the claim; this movie is great fun to watch, and as the events get more absurd, the more fun it is. What really puts the cherry on the sundae is that hey, this stuff really happened. ****
November 1, 2007

Deception by Intellectuals

Its 1957 and the very popular show "Twenty-One" attracts the national eyeballs. A patent medicine is the sponsor. Just answer a few questions and you can win a big prize. It seems so easy! Then we see the whims of the top managers affect the show. Herb Stempel is a hero to his neighborhood. The college instructor Charles Van Doren applies to be a contestant. The producers think he has star quality and want him on "Twenty-One". They also explain how things work. A new face will perk up interest. The big event comes, and Herb Stempel takes a very dramatic dive. That's show business, folks. Charles Van Doren puts on his act to be the new winner.

The contestant is led through a series of questions. They know what he knows, and what he doesn't, so its easy to promote or demote any contestant. Stempel goes to the NY Grand Jury, NBC soon learns of his secret testimony. Stempel made a poor investment with his winnings and wants more. Lawyer Goodwin noticed the attempt to squelch the Grand Jury presentment. Judge Mitchell Schweitzer upholds this cover-up (wasn't he later involved with some scandal?). Goodwin tracks down contestants (like Woodward and Bernstein). Van Doren basked in his fame. Goodwin asked his opinion about the show. Finally Goodwin talked to Stempel and got his story. [The monetary figures from 50 years ago must be multiplied by 20 for today's values.]

Stempel took a dive because of what he was promised. (He should have known better.) They had the foresight to send him to a therapist so they could question his mental stability! But Goodwin checked the facts. Stempel admitted he got the answers, and Goodwin's investigation continued. When viewing a film of the show he noticed an anomaly in Jack Berry's performance! Then he sees Van Doren take a dive, and lose after 14 weeks. But there is a consolation prize of a $50,000 salary as a cultural advisor. Goodwin confronted Enright with a registered letter, proof of rigging the show.

Goodwin's detective work lead to a Congressional hearing into television. Stempel was a star witness. Can a television network stand to be distrusted? Would print and radio profit from this? The manufacturer of Geritol told how his sales went up 50% when Van Doren was on. Of course they suspected nothing, and admitted to nothing. Could an old college professor really be so naive as to be shocked by paid performances on television? Charles Van Doren showed up to admit to the facts: he was involved in a deception. How unlike his peers in corporations or government! Putting on an act is so common in television, then or now, that no one should be shocked. Just look at the Congressional speeches at the hearings, then or now.

Enright took the blame for everything to spare the corporations. Freedman admitted to rigging the quiz shows: its entertainment. NBC is owned by RCA, Rockefeller companies (they knew nothing). This is the story of a deception by one intellectual who served corporations. How many tens of thousands of intellectuals have deceived the public for corporations without being exposed? This lavish production may not have recovered its costs at the box office. Goodwin later became a speech writer for JFK and wrote a book on this story. John Turturro seems to be "the man with a 1,000 faces" for his many acting roles in films.
July 17, 2007

Quiz Show

Tackling the quiz-show scandals that rocked the days of early television, Robert Redford's intelligent, absorbing drama digs into the murky ethics of mass-media entertainment. Turturro and Fiennes are both excellent, playing antagonists whose ethnicity is as much a concern to image-conscious programmers as their smarts. Paul Scofield won an Oscar for his turn as Van Doren's patrician father, while Rob Morrow is memorable as a Boston attorney who helps Turturro blow the whistle. "Quiz Show" remains one of cinema's best meditations on our tricky dealings with the almighty tube. July 13, 2007

Mass Deception

This is a great film--the acting, writing, and directing are superb. Especially noteworthy was John Turturo--his performance was great! The others were also excellent. The story was believable and it developed at a nice pace. My only regret was that at times it slowed down considerably and unnecessarily, making the movie longer than necessary, especially in all the trivia scenes which were meant to increase audience believability in the characters. And yes, the characters were real, many dimensional, and this was nicely portrayed throughout. I highly reccommend this film, well worth seeing many times. April 17, 2007

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