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Quiz Show (1994)

PG-13  |   |  Drama, History  |  7 October 1994 (USA)
7.5
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Ratings: 7.5/10 from 51,170 users   Metascore: 88/100
Reviews: 158 user | 59 critic | 13 from Metacritic.com

A young lawyer Jim Goodwin investigates a potentially fixed game show. Charlie Van Doren, a big time show winner is under Goodwin's investigation.

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(screenplay), (book)
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Title: Quiz Show (1994)

Quiz Show (1994) on IMDb 7.5/10

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Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 22 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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Dan Enright
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Johann Carlo ...
Toby Stempel
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George Martin ...
Chairman
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Lishman
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Account Guy
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Pennebaker
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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. Written by Tim Horrigan <horrigan@hanover-crrel.army.mil>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

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

Genres:

Drama | History

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some strong language | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

7 October 1994 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Kviz  »

Box Office

Gross:

$24,822,619 (USA)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

|

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Before filming began, Ralph Fiennes wanted to speak with Charles Van Doren in person to get his accent down for the role. However, the feeling was that Charles Van Doren would not want to help with the film at all. So Ralph Fiennes and one of the film's staff drove to the town in rural Connecticut where Charles Van Doren lives. They found Charles Van Doren sitting on a chair outside his house, and Ralph Fiennes pretended to be a lost driver and asked him for directions. See more »

Goofs

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

Quotes

Herbie Stemple: Don't do this to me, it's humiliating.
Enright: For seventy grand, Herb, you can afford to be humiliated.
See more »

Crazy Credits

Herbert Stempel went to work for the New York City Transit Department. He still lives in Queens. See more »

Connections

References Marty (1955) See more »

Soundtracks

DANCING IN THE DARK
Written by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz
See more »

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User Reviews

 
A study in ethics
17 October 1999 | by (Canberra, Australia) – See all my reviews

Although `Quiz Show' is entirely concerned with morality and the nature of moral choices, I can't think of a single moment when it isn't obvious whether or not a character is doing the right thing. There are no moral dilemmas whatever. And a good thing too - thorny ethical issues would only turn it into an episode of `Star Trek'. If you think a film needs to be confused about right and wrong in order to be interesting, watch `Quiz Show' and realise your error.

Here's most of the ethics in a nutshell: the star contestants of a popular quiz show are cheating, with the connivance of the producers, the sponsor, and the network. That they shouldn't be cheating is never in dispute. The interesting questions are: Why are they cheating? and, What is it like for them, and how do they maintain dignity, when they're found out? Of course, in an intelligent character study like this there are plenty of other questions. I won't ruin your pleasure by giving away any of the answers. The best scenes, probably, are the ones in which a character must admit to someone or some group of people that he has cheated. All these scenes are very good and each is handled in a different way. But they're just cherries in a rich fruitcake. `Quiz Show' is one of my personal favourites. It was nominated for Best Picture of 1994 - an unusually fertile year - although the award went instead to some big dumb propaganda piece.


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has the distribution of this movie been supressed since it's release? robtromp
Rob Morrow miscast? j-scott-adams
The real Best Picture, 1994 cdrw74minutes
Is Charles Van Doren really at fault? MovieGuy89
Ruben Sandwich cann85
Did anyone else find Charles van Doren's(Fiennes) smile annoying? lgforce
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