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7.3Herbert Stempel's transformation into an unexpected television personality unfolds as he secures victory on the cherished American game show, 'Twenty-One.' However, when the show introduces the highly skilled contestant Charles Van Doren to replace Stempel, it compels Stempel to let out his frustrations and call out the show as rigged. Lawyer Richard Goodwin steps in and attempts to uncover the orchestrated deception behind the scenes.
Cast
- John Turturro as Herb Stempel
- Rob Morrow as Dick Goodwin
- Ralph Fiennes as Charles Van Doren
- Paul Scofield as Mark Van Doren
- David Paymer as Dan Enright
- Hank Azaria as Albert Freedman
Themes
- investigation
- manipulation
- manipulation of the media
- game show
- idealism
- tv ratings
- based on true story
- quiz
- idealist
- product placement
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Ratings
IMDb
7.5/10
76,489 votes
Rotten Tomatoes
97%
Metacritic
92/100
- Year
- 1994
- Runtime
- 133 min
- Genres
- Biography, Drama, History
- Rated
- PG-13
- Awards
- Nominated for 4 Oscars. 6 wins & 36 nominations total
via OMDb · IMDb
Key facts
- Directed by
- Robert Redford
- Screenplay by
- Paul Attanasio
- Based on
- Remembering America , by Richard Goodwin
- Produced by
- Robert Redford, Michael Jacobs , Julian Krainin , Michael Nozik
- Starring
- John Turturro Rob Morrow Ralph Fiennes David Paymer Paul Scofield
- Cinematography
- Michael Ballhaus
- Edited by
- Stu Linder
- Music by
- Mark Isham
- Production companies
- Hollywood Pictures Baltimore Pictures Wildwood Enterprises Michael Jacobs Productions
- Distributed by
- Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
- Release date
- September 14, 1994 ( 1994-09-14 ) (New York City )
- Running time
- 133 minutes
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Budget
- $31 million
- Box office
- $52.2 million
via Wikipedia infobox
~23 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Quiz Show is a 1994 American historical mystery-drama film directed and produced by Robert Redford. Dramatizing the Twenty-One quiz show scandal of the 1950s, the screenplay by Paul Attanasio adapts the memoirs of Richard N. Goodwin, a U.S. Congressional lawyer who investigated the accusations of game-fixing by show producers. The film chronicles the rise and fall of popular contestant Charles Van Doren after the fixed loss of Herb Stempel and Goodwin's subsequent probe.
The film stars John Turturro as Stempel, Rob Morrow as Goodwin, and Ralph Fiennes as Charles Van Doren. Paul Scofield, David Paymer, Hank Azaria, Martin Scorsese, Mira Sorvino, and Christopher McDonald play supporting roles. The real Goodwin and Stempel served as technical advisors to the production.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Quiz Show” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.