Quiz Show Page #7

Synopsis: 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.
Director(s): Robert Redford
Production: Buena Vista Internationa
  Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 28 nominations.
 
IMDB:
7.5
Metacritic:
88
Rotten Tomatoes:
96%
PG-13
Year:
1994
133 min
1,361 Views


- So how long has it been now, Charlie ?

- lt's been nine weeks now.

- And you've won how much ?

- $93,000.

- Hmm, so that's, uh, $10,000 a week.

- That's right.

Although last week, l know you were

preempted for another program.

Well, that's the problem

with television. The pay's

good, but it's not that steady.

- Don't remind me. l'm up for renewal.

- [ Laughing ]

So tell us about the book

you're working on.

Well, it's called

Lincoln's Commando,

and l hope people will find it

as interesting as l do.

How do you think

Honest Abe would do on a quiz show ?

- Honest Abe ?

- Yeah.

Well, l think he'd do very well.

And, of course, on a show

like this, he'd be wonderful.

l'm sure he would.

[ Church Bells Ringing ]

- Here we are, Professor.

- Yeah, l-l'm just--

l just have to tie my shoe.

[ Chattering ]

- Hi, Mr. Van Doren.

- Hey, Mr. Van Doren.

- Hey !

- [ Chattering ]

- Oh !

- Good morning. Hi.

- Good morning, Mr. Van Doren.

- Good morning.

- Where's the monkey ?

- l saw you on TV this morning.

- ls Thomas Merton Episcopalian

or Catholic ?

- Catholic.

Hello. Are you here

for office hours ?

Oh, no.

l'm Richard Goodwin.

- Did Clark Byse call ?

- Clark Byse ? No, he didn't.

See, l'm up from Washington. He

suggested l might look you up.

- You're not a stockbroker, are you ?

- Lawyer, which is bad enough.

- Professor Byse taught me Contracts.

- Then we have something in common.

- He taught me my backhand.

- l'm with the House Subcommittee

on Legislative Oversight.

l've been swarmed by

stockbrokers lately.

l feel like a girl

with a bad reputation.

The Committee has jurisdiction

over television.

l'm sorry. Please,

um, have a seat.

Thank you.

You must have done very well at Harvard.

Clark doesn't like anyone.

Uh, l was, uh, actually

first in my class.

- You make it sound like an affliction.

Did you clerk ?

- Well--

- Uh, Frankfurter.

- Oh, really ? Hmm.

lt's nothin'. l tell you, what l love

is what you do, literature.

Well, hell, if l was

first in my class, l'd get a tattoo.

- So, what brings you to New York,

Dick, uh, literature ?

- Let me ask ya.

Did you ever notice anything out of the

ordinary about the quiz show you're on ?

What ?

Anything suspect.

Anything at all.

You mean besides

its popularity ?

What l'm hoping is that

you might be able to give me

some kind of road map here.

- l feel like we speak

the same language.

- Well, of course.

- Anything l can do to help.

- [ Door Opening ] Oh, um,

- Mr. Van Doren.

- Yes ? Yes, yes.

- l'm sorry. l'm in your class

on the Romantics, and, uh--

- Of course you are.

l-l-- Actually, l'm auditing it

because you've been on television.

- Do you-- Should l come back later ?

- Oh, um, if you don't mind--

- l'll come back.

- l tell you what. Why don't you

meet me tomorrow ?

- l'll take you to lunch

at the Athenaeum.

- The what ?

l'm sorry. The Athenaeum Club

at Forty-third and Fifth ?

Say, uh, tomorrow at noon ?

- Lunch at The Athenaeum.

- At noon.

- Great.

- Great. See you then.

l wanted to talk to you

about Ode on a Grecian Urn.

''Beauty is truth;

truth, beauty.

That is all ye know on earth

and all ye need to know.''

- Does he really mean that

about beauty and truth ?

- Why foster child ? l don't under--

Congress investigates

communists.

Congress investigates

mobsters. That is not me.

Yeah, well, look on the bright side.

You'll be on national television.

- That's a joke, Charlie.

- Well, that's not funny.

- Charles Van Doren.

Hey ! Charles Van Doren !

- lt's just not funny.

- How ya doin' ?

- l'm worried about this.

- Yeah, well, look, l alr--

Who was that ?

- lt's just some guy.

Well, look, l already know about

this guy Goodwin, and l'm on top

of it. So trust me.

- You callin' lnformation ?

What are you dialin' for ?

- You don't understand.

- Oh, for information ? Charles Van

Doren, he's dialin' for lnformation.

- l have a name.

Hey, Chuck, what do you do ?

Chuckie ! Answer this question.

- l-l'm sorry. l gotta go.

- What street do l

live on in Brooklyn, huh ?

- D-Did you tell him anything ?

- N-No, no, l didn't--

- [ Shouting ]

- l-l gotta go.

l gotta go ! l've gotta go !

Come on ! Let's go !

Hey, Chuck, how ya doin' ?

How ya holdin' up ? All right ?

Hey, can l get an autograph

for my wife ? Give me

an autograph for my wife !

Come on, Chuck ! Don't be a snob !

Give me an autograph for my wife !

[ Goodwin ] So Sandra says

what's ever on her mind.

And you've been married

how long ?

Five years.

You ?

Oh, no. l'm supposed to be

fixed up with this girl...

on the cover of the new

Harper's Bazaar, but--

- Well, you know how that is.

- Yeah.

- Waldorf salad for you, Mr. Van Doren.

- Oh, thank you.

- And a Reuben sandwich.

- Thank you.

- So--

- Oh.

What do you know about this

grand jury investigation, Charlie ?

Oh, l remember Dan mentioned

something about this,

that it was all some--

some wild goose chase.

Uh, a political thing.

- They talk so fast in that business.

Half of it goes right past me.

- Dan ?

Enright.

He's really the one to talk to.

- You know if he testified ?

- Uh, uh, more water ?

Uh, you can reach him

at NBC. Dan Enright.

So, how long have you been

with this committee, Dick ?

Six months. Seemed like a good way

to postpone the inevitable.

Postpone the inevitable.

ls there a spot for me ?

l mean Wall Street.

- Oh.

- [ Chuckles ]

So, back to this, uh,

grand jury business.

- l'm wondering--

- Oh.

- Dad !

- Charlie.

Excuse me, Frank.

This is a surprise.

How are you, son ? We share an office,

and l never see you anymore.

Oh, l'm there, Dad.

l'm just hiding behind your reputation.

[ Mr. Van Doren ] No, l'm serious.

We all miss you at home.

Please, join us. Dad, this is

Dick Goodwin. He's up from Washington.

- Narrow escape.

- Dad doesn't like Washington.

A swamp that traded

malaria for politics.

- What's the special ?

- lt's the Reuben.

Reuben sandwich is the only

entirely invented sandwich.

Won the National Sandwich

Contest two years ago.

- A salient point. Who invented it ?

- Uh, Reuben Kay.

- At a poker game in Omaha.

- l knew there was a ''k'' in Nebraska.

Unfortunately, they have

the sandwich here, but they

don't seem to have any Reubens.

- Touche.

- Dick's a protege of Clark Byse.

l just finished a clerkship

with Justice Frankfurter.

Of course you did.

Frankfurter collects brains

the way other people collect stamps.

Uh, did you happen to see

the show Monday, Dad ?

Monday. Uh, we were

with Bunny Wilson.

Oh, no, it's nothing. Just there

was a question about Hawthorne.

Oh, well, you know how it is

with Bunny once he gets going.

So, Dick, Charlie invite you

to his poker game yet ?

He's a helluva poker player.

W-We have a regular game

Thursday nights, just some

friends l went to school with.

- You're welcome to come over next week.

- Are you a gambler, Dick ?

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Paul Attanasio

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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    "Quiz Show" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 22 Nov. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/quiz_show_16473>.

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