I remember back in the day when the scandal of the rigged quiz shows came to public attention, in one of his monologues Bob Hope said that with all the investigations uncovering all the crooked doings on television the most honest thing on there was professional wrestling.

It was quite the scandal back in the day, the producing team of Barry and Enright were far from the only ones rigging their shows. In one fell swoop nearly all the television quiz shows went off the air. For a long time the only ones you saw on television were Concentration, Password, and The Price is Right and none of them were for the big money that 21 and others were giving out.

Poor Charles Van Doren he was just ahead of his time without knowing it. Today a guy like Herbert Stempel would never make it through the screening process. But he did back in the day and therein lies the tale.

I remember it well from my childhood. Herbert Stempel, nerdy ex-GI who probably was a Democrat who voted for Ike just ain't cutting it on the Nielsen ratings. They need someone with glamor and when Charles Van Doren, scion of one of America's most glittering family of intellectuals and folks who were definitely madly for Adlai tries out for one of the Barry-Enright Quiz Shows, they think they've found their star. Stempel gets promised all kinds of stuff to throw the show, but his promises are welshed on.

That does not sit too well with Stempel who starts protesting loud and long to the Grand Jury in New York County and finally to the Halls of Congress. Van Doren and his family are disgraced.

I remember the attention given to the real Charles Van Doren. A matinée idol professor, he looked to have a golden future. I could have easily seen him running for public office at some point had the scandal never occurred.

John Turturro as Stempel and Ralph Fiennes as Van Doren ring true to their characters, especially Fiennes as I remember Van Doren. There was an Oscar nomination for Paul Scofield who played Charles's father Mark Van Doren and Rob Morrow does very well as Richard Goodwin the Congressional investigator who reluctantly brings down a great liberal hero to be.

Robert Redford did a great job recreating a forgotten piece of Americana and the times that accompanied it. After all, it's only show business.

It's 1958. Twenty-one is one of the most popular TV quiz shows. Producers Dan Enright (David Paymer) and Albert Freedman (Hank Azaria) run the show. Herb Stempel (John Turturro) from Queens is the reigning champ. However the sponsor doesn't feel that Stempel is a good TV personality. Columbia University instructor Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes) is fascinated with the show and tries out. Unscrupulous Enright and Freedman forces Stempel to lose on an easy question. Van Doren's TV success soon brings him out of the shadows of his renowned intellectual father. Stempel is frozen out and he goes to a grand jury. Richard Goodwin (Rob Morrow) is a congressional investigator who starts to investigate the game show.

This movie is anchored by two amazing performances. John Turturro is at his jittery sweaty best. He provides the nervous energy while Ralph Fiennes gives the human fragility. It's a great character study of two fascinating personalities.

I understand that a few liberties were taken with the facts in this film. They always are. The fundamentals of the quiz scandal of the fifties, however, did come through. This is a movie about men and their integrity. From Herbert Stempel to Charles Van Doren we have a range. These men were both geniuses, but Van Doren was the son of one of or great poets and critics and Stempel was just, well, Stempel. We idolize our pretty people (nothing new). Van Doren, of course, had to eventually face the music or face jail time. There were two golden ages of television. The first was when Milton Berle and his ilk caused people to put away everything early and watch each week. Jackie Gleason was also a part of this. The second began when TV began to exert its power. These big buck quiz shows were all over the place and the advertising revenue became phenomenal. How could one not begin to see the orchestration going on behind the scenes when such money began to speak loudly? Like the internet today, the media had moved beyond the legal system. One had to almost ask: Did anyone do anything illegal beyond the basic limits of fraud. And if they did, who was harmed by it?

The performances are wonderful here. Rob Morrow, who should be doing a lot more, is excellent as the bulldog investigator. Ralph Fiennes comes across so well as Van Doren. He has that little snobby accent down cold. We want to hate him, but he is part of a great family and so automatically demands respect. John Turturro as Stempel is a juggernaut. He knows what they have done to him and he is really offended. He is crash and boorish and smart. Not what TV really wanted. The scandal plays itself out in a believable, realistic way that is so nice to see. If you want a movie that requires you to see the entire issue and make your own decision, see Quiz Show.