Quiz Show (1994)

Factual error: There is a theater showing 'La Dolce Vita.' That movie came out in 1960, but this film takes place in 1957 or 58 (since there is a reference to new 1958 model car).

Continuity mistake: When Dan Enright plays the doctored audio taped conversation for Dick Goodwin, the phrase "Who cares if it's true?" spoken by Herb Stemple has a different inflection from when the conversation took place.

Factual error: In the scene where Charles Van Doren appears on the Today show, it's quite obvious that the studio's location is the same as the modern-day street level studio used by the show ("Studio 1A"). However, during the period the movie took place, the Today show was in a studio further down the street, closer to the iconic NBC marquee, in the space presently occupied by Christie's auction house.

Trivia: In this film it is stated that Herb Stemple lost all of the money he won on 21 when he invested in Florida land development that turned out to be a con. The truth is far more sinister; he was never paid in the first place. The fanfare about the huge prizes to be won on 21 was as phoney as the show itself, and Dan Enright and Albert Freeman made it clear to him that the whole thing was a sham and he was going to be paid a fraction of what they promised him. They forced him to sign a contract to that effect, something he bitterly regretted doing. The resentment over the shabby way he had been treated contributed to his decision to blow the whistle on the whole scam.

PEDAUNT

Trivia: In the film, Herb Stempel loses to Charles Van Doren by incorrectly answering On the Waterfront as the 1955 Best Picture winner. While this was one of the questions asked, it was not the question Stempel lost on.

Cubs Fan ★

Trivia: Ethan Hawke makes an uncredited cameo as a Columbia University student.

Cubs Fan ★

Account Guy: Stempel is an underdog. You know, people root for that. It's a New York thing.
Martin Rittenhome: Queens is not New York.

Herbie Stemple: I love my wife, but it's like living with a plague of locusts.

Congressman Derounian: I'm happy that you've made the statement. But I cannot agree with most of my colleagues. See, I don't think an adult of your intelligence should be commended for simply, at long last, telling the truth.