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Quiz Show is a movie I've watched multiple times since it's release. A quiet rumination on many things, it's one of those movies you sit back and watch on a lazy afternoon when you have nothing to do and all day to do it.
About those quiet ruminations: it's the 1950s and television is experiencing a nascent innocence. New York City is arguably the entertainment and financial center of the Western hemisphere and, therefore, many of the contestants on games shows are homegrown locals (unlike the later shift to Hollywood, where you needed to block off a day of your vacation to attend or participate in most games shows).
But underneath the champagne bubbles of post-WWII NYC life lay deep divisions: Manhattan vs the Outer Boroughs, old money vs a burgeoning post-war middle class, and an unspoken anti-Semitism in a city with a large Jewish population.
Herbie Stempel is the embodiment of many of those things: a working-class Jew from Brooklyn, he's keeping a roof over his family's head, while cashing in on his encyclopedic memory on a the quiz show "21." But Herbie isn't photogenic, he lacks the social graces of a Manhattanite and, obviously, Jewish. And 21's ratings are dropping because of it.
Charles Van Doren is an English professor at Columbia University. But he chafes under a career laid out for him by virtue of his family name and WASP upbringing. Yearning to make a name of his own, he applies to be a contestant on 21.
Photogenic, young and urbane, he is the answer to the producers' prayers! But what to do with poor Herbie Stempel? Ahh,...the curtain is now peeled back and ugly truth about 21 is revealed! The show is rigged: random and "hermetically-sealed" questions and answers are given to the champions in advance. Herbie is forced to throw the game in favor of Charles. And rubbing salt into the wound, he "loses" on a simple question near to his heart. Embarrassed, he limped back to Brooklyn with his tale between his legs. Spurred to anger by his wife, Herbie calls out the inherent anti-Semitism on the show (in reality, a Jewish champion on 21 was always succeeded by a Christian who made significantly more money during their reign). Of note, the real Charles Van Doren made nearly $2 million adjusted to 21st Century's economy!
Word reaches up-and-coming Congressional lawyer and "shadow" Jew, Dick Goodwin. Intrigued by Herbie's claims, he smells a rat. But Goodwin is conflicted as well: his Jewish roots tell him he should support Herbie, but his desire to advance up the social ladder is forcing him to hide his Judaism. This has him admiring Charles and all the social graces of his stature.
Goodwin initially turns a blind eye, but more proof piles on and Van Doren's house of cards, guarded by Goodwin, and viewed by Stempel, comes crashing down. In the end, even Van Doren's family name can't save him from disgrace and the show shuts down under the weight of new television oversight and rules.
The real 21's producer, Dan Enright and host, Jack Barry, went on to continued fame in various game shows through the 60s and 70s.
In an era where "reality TV" is scripted, manipulated and poorly-acted, you can see where it all began.
