Quiz Show

Quite honestly, I did not believe this movie, a historical movie about a tv show scandal, would attract my attention much. “Quiz Show” seemed a rather boring topic to me, so I held no high expectations for the film. The beginning stuck me as odd and out of place, showing a young man viewing a car at a dealership and going home to his wife, complaining about not having enough money for his wants. She replies sarcastically, “Well. I’m not the one who brought home a Chrysler Catalog.” But after watching the entire movie, it made some sense as you explained it. As the movie continues, a captivating story line unfolds. Middle aged Mr. Stempel, a genius Jew making tons of cash on the popular quiz show Twenty-One, is forced to take a dive by the producers,

On the other side of the story, Mr. Van Doren has been given a rather difficult decision to make. He decides to receive the questions in advance, then later on he begins to receive the answers instead. The producers want him to continue to win to increase ratings. To the viewer, this choice made by Mr. Van Doren may seem obviously wrong, but put yourself in his shoes. That much money for such a small amount of your conscience. It was such a good deal, in fact, that each winning contestant before Mr. Van Doren had received the answers as well, including Mr. Stempel. I realize that I have just summarized much of the movie , but I felt it was necessary in order to make my next statement. This movie is based on the idea of choosing morals over money. The movie shows that happiness is not bought with money. That choosing to do right, no matter how much you do not want to, is better for everyone. On the more technical side of the film, it had some extraordinarily good technique throughout it. As pointed out several times, during the scene that Mr. Van Doren chooses to accept the devilish deal, the shot of him is an increasing high