There’s an old saying: “Dear God: Help me get up; I can fall down by myself.” Robert Redford’s film “Quiz Show” gives us the story of a man who fell hard. A young professor at Columbia University, Charles Van Doren gets the chance to appear on “Twenty-One,” a 1950s television quiz show. The producers have rigged the show, giving answers ahead of time to contestants they favor, and though Charlie at first resists playing along, he soon takes part in this fraud, wins contest after contest, and becomes a national celebrity. When a former contestant exposes this chicanery, Charlie is investigated by the Department of Justice and must testify before Congress about the scandal. Disgraced—across the land his name becomes synonymous with “cheater”—he loses a promising career in television and resigns from his teaching post. The movie concludes with him waving goodbye to a federal prosecutor. But that’s not where …
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