Recently, the producers of the hit prime time game show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" were faced with criticism and falling ratings. They had been relying upon phone surveys to screen their contestants. Since the questions were presumably devised by white males in their thirties and forties, this inevitably resulted in contestants who were disproportionately similar to the writers.

One solution would have been to replace all the writers. A more practical solution was to rely instead upon face to face interviews. Now contestants could be screened at least partly based upon their looks and personality. Since audiences identify closely with contestants, why not choose contestants that the audience will like? The name of the game is high ratings, and not the reward of smart people for their bookish ways.

But there is nothing new under the sun. The producers of game shows have been casting their contestants for decades. The next logical step is to ensure the success of telegenic contestants by rigging the results.

This was never done more shamelessly than on the late 1950s game show "Twenty-One". Not only were the winners and losers predetermined, but the players had become actors. They were required to feign angst for dramatic effect when they already knew the answers.

In the movie Quiz Show, the surprise isn't that the fix is in, but that the conspiracy is so wide. The contestants, the producer, the host, the sponsor and the network brass are all involved. When the audience tires of obnoxious, nerdy (and Jewish) Herbie Stempel, he is dethroned by Charles Van Doren, a likable young Ivy League educator who comes from a prominent family.

The 1950s was a decade often depicted as an era of "Leave it to Beaver" innocence, which the quiz show scandals helped to shatter. Any innocence came at the expense of a cultural censorship, which prevented the discussion of 'unseemly' topics such as the rights of blacks, homosexuals, or communists.

Innocence was also self-imposed. Viewers wanted to believe that "Twenty-One" was real, and that Geritol somehow cured 'tired blood'. Even the great man of letters, the seemingly perceptive Mark Van Doren (Paul Scofield) is in denial. He overlooks hints that his son is cheating on a television show, and naively believes that it won't impact his professorship. Mark is so intent on his son following his footsteps that he ignores evidence that he has gone his own way.

We immediately dislike Herbie Stempel (John Turturro), partly because of his appearance, but also because his caustic observations reflect the truth as he sees it. We take to Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes) partly because of his looks and charm, but also because he continually defers facing his own questionable morals. What both of the fraudulent geniuses have in common is that they eventually come to believe that they deserve the special treatment they have been receiving.

Quiz Show states that the same cynicism that exists today existed then, only its expression was suppressed. The corporate corruption of NBC extended from producer Dan Enright (David Paymer) on up to its Chairman (George Martin). Enright cynically discards Stempel once he is no longer useful. Enright himself is cynically discarded once he becomes a liability to NBC.

Ambitious young attorney Dick Goodwin (Rob Morrow) knows how rotten the core of the apple is. But no amount of effort will reveal the core, as those with power work to protect their own. Those with direct association to the scandal take the fall, as is usually the case with organized crime. Enright claims that no harm was done to anyone, but that is not the case. We are all the worse off when appearance takes precedence over substance.

Noted film directors Martin Scorsese and Barry Livingson show up in small supporting roles.

Rob Morrow has received much criticism for his 'Boston' accent in the film. But if Goodwin really was from Massachusetts, and a Hahvad law school graduate, then he should sound like one. Even if you expect him at any moment to say, "Ask not what your country can do for you." Not everybody is from Kansas. The problem is with the casting, as someone actually from the region would have been more convincing.

Quiz Show is also guilty of timeline acceleration, merging events from 1956 to 1958 into a single year. On too many occasions, characters are shocked, shocked, to find that their loved ones were cheats on a quiz show. Did they really believe that their husband or son always came up with the correct answer only after a full minute of dramatic stalling?

Quiz Show, like most films directed by Robert Redford, was nominated for a slew of Academy Awards. These included Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Scofield) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Paul Attanasio). Quiz Show won Best Film from the New York Film Critics Circle. (75/100)


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8