Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, October 7, 1994                   TAG: 9410080003
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

`QUIZ SHOW' IS LEGITIMATE: IT'S A WINNER

It's an appropriate approach to a story of a relatively minor scandal that led to a national loss of innocence. In this business, no significant crimes were committed. Several men lied for the usual reasons - money and fame - and then tried to hide their lies.

What made it different was the fact that they did it on television in 1958.

Director Robert Redford and writer Paul Attanasio let the complicated events unfold at an unhurried pace, and though they are generally careful to spread guilt and responsibility evenly among their characters, they take some liberties with the truth toward the end.

At the center of the film are three young men. Herbie Stempel (John Turturro) is a successful contestant on the hugely popular prime time TV show "Twenty-One." He's hot until the sponsor decides that he wants someone more attractive to win - thereby to sell more Geritol. Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes), a handsome college professor from a respected intellectual family, is just what he's looking for. But when Dick Goodwin (Rob Morrow), a congressional investigator, learns that a grand jury has been looking into the show, he becomes curious. He also realizes that public hearings on "Twenty-One" would not be the worst thing that ever happened to his own career.

Why is everyone so interested? Because the shows producers, Dan Enright (David Paymer) and Albert Freedman (Hank Azaria), have rigged it. They use any trick to heighten suspense in the live broadcasts, even furnishing contestants with answers and telling them when to lose.

They want Stempel to take a dive, but don't know how to handle him when he refuses to step aside quietly for Van Doren.

That's the basis for a triangular conflict. Stempel, the original loose cannon, sometimes sounds and looks irrational. Can he be trusted? Van Doren is feeling double pressures of personal guilt and the expectations of his famous father, Mark (Paul Scofield). Goodwin is charmed by the Van Dorens and their literary pals. It's inconceivable to him that they'd allow themselves to be involved in something so grubby as cheating on a TV show aimed at "common" people.

Goodwin uncovers the truth behind the show through a series of interviews and questions reminiscent of "All the President's Men." Doubtless Redford had that film in mind while he was making this one. It's a legitimate comparison: Both stories rely on a large cast of believable characters caught up in a realistic conspiracy.

The acting is remarkable throughout, though John Turturro's unhinged arm-flapping wears thin. Rob Morrow and Ralph Fiennes make fine antagonists, two men who are friendly but wary around each other. Both of them step aside when Paul Scofield is on screen. His is a heavyweight supporting role that's guaranteed an Oscar nomination.

Redford and director of photography Michael Ballhaus give the action an understated period look, but this isn't an exercise in nostalgia. The film is about guilt, corruption, snobbery, cronyism, celebrity, family, government and business. It manages to keep all those elements in balance until the conclusion. Then the filmmakers yield to temptation and create a conventional Hollywood villain in NBC president Robert Kintner (Allan Rich).

It's a comparatively minor flaw in an entertaining film, but it's also a needless flaw. In the end, "Quiz Show" is not about evil men trying to con the rest of us. It's about how easily we're conned, and how little we really care when we find out.

Quiz Show ***1/2

A Hollywood Pictures release opening today at Valley View Mall 6 and The Grandin Theatre. 128 min. Rated PG-13 for language.