Quiz Show is a 1994 film which tells the true story of the Twenty One quiz show scandal of the 1950s. It stars John Turturro, Rob Morrow, Ralph Fiennes, Paul Scofield, David Paymer, Hank Azaria, and Christopher McDonald. The film chronicles the rise and fall of the popular contestant Charles Van Doren (played by Fiennes) after the rigged loss of Herb Stempel (played by Turturro) to Van Doren and Congressional investigator Richard N. (Dick) Goodwin's probe of Twenty One's game fixing. Goodwin is portrayed by Morrow, who also co-produced the film. Mira Sorvino appears in the film as Goodwin's wife Sandra.
The movie was adapted by Paul Attanasio from Goodwin's book Remembering America. It was produced and directed by Robert Redford.
An idealistic young lawyer (Rob Morrow) working for a Congressional subcommittee in the late 1950s discovers that TV quiz shows are being fixed. His investigation focusses on two contestants on the show "Twenty-One": Herbert Stempel (John Turturro), a brash working-class Jew from Queens, and Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes), the patrician scion of one of America's leading literary families. Based on a true story. Written by Tim Horrigan
In 1958 when television quiz shows ruled the airwaves, Charles Van Doren was the wildly popular champion of a successful TV show called "Twenty-One." A national celebrity who appeared on the covers of both "Time" and "Life" magazines, Van Doren was an American folk hero. Week after week audiences tuned in to watch as Van Doren, a popular English instructor at Columbia University and the product of one of America's most renowned literary families, seemed to draw from his vast knowledge the correct answers to obscure questions. His charming presence seduced 50 million people into believing him. But the truth is, viewers were fooled and saw only what the network and program's producers wanted them to see. Then someone pulled the plug. When disgruntled contestant Herbie Stempel charged that the quiz game was a fraud, Congressional investigator Richard Goodwin uncovered the facts that exposed the deception, and sent shock waves reverberating across America. Written by alfiehitchie
