Quiz Show (film)

Quiz Show
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRobert Redford
Screenplay byPaul Attanasio
Based onRemembering America
by Richard Goodwin
Produced byRobert Redford
Michael Jacobs
Julian Krainin
Michael Nozik
Starring
CinematographyMichael Ballhaus
Edited byStu Linder
Music byMark Isham
Production
companies
Distributed byBuena Vista Pictures Distribution
Release date
  • September 14, 1994 (1994-09-14) (New York City[1])
Running time
133 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$31 million[2]
Box office$52.2 million

Quiz Show is a 1994 American historical mystery-drama film[3][4] directed and produced by Robert Redford. Dramatizing the Twenty-One quiz show scandals of the 1950s, the screenplay by Paul Attanasio[5] adapts the memoirs of Richard N. Goodwin, a U.S. Congressional lawyer who investigated the accusations of game-fixing by show producers.[6] 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.[5][7][8] The real Goodwin and Stempel served as technical advisors to the production.

The film received generally positive reviews and was nominated for several awards, including a Best Picture Oscar nomination and several Golden Globe Awards, but was a financial disappointment, grossing $52.2 million against a $31 million budget.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference open was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Box Office Information for Quiz Show". Archived from the original on October 14, 2015. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  3. ^ Dunkel, Tom (September 27, 1994). "The Man with All the Answers". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  4. ^ "AFI|Catalog". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved 2022-01-15.
  5. ^ a b "Quiz Show". Turner Classic Movies. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner). Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  6. ^ Goodwin, Richard N. (2014). Remembering America: A Voice from the Sixties (Paperback ed.). New York City: Open Road Integrated Media. ISBN 978-1497676572.
  7. ^ David Ansen (September 18, 1994). "When America Lost Its Innocence--Maybe". Newsweek.
  8. ^ Maslin, Janet (September 14, 1994). "QUIZ SHOW; Good and Evil in a More Innocent Age". The New York Times.