Redford's Best! A Masterpiece of Modern Cinema

Rating: 10/10 (4 February 2007)

Quiz Show details the infamous examination of the TV game show scandals of the 1950's. The film focuses on the most famous scandal, the rigged quiz show "Twenty One." This is a film that makes the viewer question the morals and ethics of the time period. It also examines how far people will go to violate those ethics and morals for big money.
In the 1950's, game shows were a big business. The pilot episode of Twenty-One was not rigged. However, the questions were so hard that games often ended in 0-0 ties. NBC higher-ups were desperate to try to get the show the needed ratings boost. Show producers Al Freedman and Dan Enright came up with the idea of screening for "Good looking", often stereotyped, WASP contestants. To insure the show's success, popular contestants were given questions and answers that were to be used on the show in advance to keep them on the show longer.
The movie analyzes in depth how many played along with the charade. Contestants were scripted not only with the questions and answers they would be asked on the show, but were also coached on how to answer. (i.e amount of time pausing, how to stammer when unsure about a question. How to show just the right amount of emotion when responding.)
Herb Stempel was a geeky Jewish kid from Queens New York who was sharp and smart, but rapidly losing popularity with the Twenty-One audience because he had a dull personality. In contrast, Charles Van Doren was an aspiring English professor out of Columbia University. He was brash, charismatic, good looking, and was talked by Freedman and Enright to appear on Twenty-One as Stempel's most famous challenger.
Van Doren had wanted to play legitimately, but Freedman and Enright were convinced that Herb was unbeatable and demanded that Stempel take a dive on a Movie Category question. "What Motion Picture Won The Academy Award for Best Picture in 1955." Herb Stempel had seen Marty, the correct answer, many times. However, he was forced to pause, pretend that he didn't know the answer, and demanded to answer "On The Waterfront."
The movie traces Herb's outrage at being manipulated and exploited by the producers in being forced to throw his tenure at Twenty-One on such an easy question. Herbie decides to bring about Richard Goodman, who heads a Senate Subcommittee, to expose Van Doren, Freedman, and Enright for their fraudulent, unethical, practices. It is later discovered that Stempel himself was also given questions/answers in advance. Therefore, he was himself a player in a rigged game.
Many of you will experience outrage over how Freedman and Enright manipulated and deceived the public in this historic film. The actors do a brilliant job in recreating their famous roles. Even supporting actors play their small roles to perfection.
A few differences between the movie Quiz Show, and the actual Twenty-One Show:
1.) Charles Van Doren and Herb Stempel played a series of "scripted" tie breaker games before the famous "Marty" movie question.
2.) The question about Marty was worth 5 points, not 3.
3.) Questions in the movie that recreate the famous Van Doren-Stempel final match were not the same as in the actual show. They were a composite of similar questions asked throughout the run of the show.
4.) Van Doren "won" and became new champion when he elected to stop the game in the second round .
5.) According to Game Show historians, only the first showing of Twenty-One was not rigged (but the questions were too hard, resulting in several 0-0 tie games.) The last show was also not rigged because Freedman and Enright had been exposed and tried to make the game legit at the last minute, but it was too late because the scandal had long been established.
Quiz Show is a brilliant portrait of director genius! It's so good, it feels more like a documentary than a movie!