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Cold Turkey (19-Feb-1971)

Director: Norman Lear

Writers: Norman Lear; William Price Fox, Jr.

From novel: I'm Giving Them Up for Good by Margaret Rau and Neil Rau

Music by: Randy Newman

Producer: Norman Lear

Keywords: Comedy

As a publicity stunt, a big tobacco company offers $25M to any town that can fully stop smoking. The cash-strapped hamlet of Eagle Rock, Iowa accepts this challenge. Extremely funny satire, but catch an unbutchered version. The first movie scored by Randy Newman.

NameOccupationBirthDeathKnown for
Paul Benedict
Actor
17-Dec-1938 1-Dec-2008 Harry Bentley on The Jeffersons
Sudie Bond
Actor
13-Jul-1928 10-Nov-1984 Silkwood
Bob Elliott
Comic
26-Mar-1923 2-Feb-2016 Half of Bob & Ray
Vincent Gardenia
Actor
7-Jan-1922 9-Dec-1992 Cher's father in Moonstruck
Ray Goulding
Comic
20-Mar-1922 24-Mar-1990 Half of Bob & Ray
Edward Everett Horton
Actor
18-Mar-1886 29-Sep-1970 Prolific 1930s comedic actor
Barnard Hughes
Actor
16-Jul-1915 11-Jul-2006 High priest in TRON
Graham Jarvis
Actor
25-Aug-1930 16-Apr-2003 Canadian-American character actor
Maureen McCormick
Actor
5-Aug-1956   Marcia on The Brady Bunch
Bob Newhart
Comic
5-Sep-1929   The Bob Newhart Show
Tom Poston
Actor
17-Oct-1921 30-Apr-2007 Handyman on Newhart
Peggy Rea
Actor
31-Mar-1921 5-Feb-2011 Lulu Hogg on Dukes of Hazzard
Walter Sande
Actor
9-Jul-1906 22-Feb-1972 Character actor
Pippa Scott
Actor
10-Nov-1935   Cold Turkey
Simon Scott
Actor
21-Sep-1920 11-Dec-1991 Arnold Slocum on Trapper John, M.D.
Jean Stapleton
Actor
19-Jan-1923 31-May-2013 Edith on All In The Family
Dick Van Dyke
Actor
13-Dec-1925   The Dick Van Dyke Show
M. Emmet Walsh
Actor
22-Mar-1935   Grizzled character actor

CAST

Dick Van Dyke   ...   Rev. Clayton Brooks
Also Starring
Pippa Scott   ...   Natalie Brooks
Tom Poston   ...   Mr. Stopworth
Edward Everett Horton   ...   Hiram Grayson
Bob Elliott   ...   TV Commentators
Ray Goulding   ...   TV Commentators
Co-Starring
Vincent Gardenia   ...   Mayor Wappler
Barnard Hughes   ...   Dr. Procter
Graham Jarvis   ...   Amos Bush
Jean Stapleton   ...   Mrs. Wappler
Barbara Cason   ...   Letitia
Judith Lowry   ...   Odie
Sudie Bond   ...   Cissy
Helen Page Camp   ...   Mrs. Watson
Paul Benedict   ...   Zen Buddhist
Simon Scott   ...   Mr. Kandiss
Raymond Kark   ...   Homer Watson
Peggy Rea   ...   Mrs. Procter
Featuring
Woodrow Parfrey   ...   Tobacco Executive
George Mann   ...   Bishop Manley
Charles Pinney   ...   Col. Galloway
M. Emmet Walsh   ...   Art
Gloria LeRoy   ...   Hooker
Eric Boles   ...   Dennis
Jack Grimes   ...   TV Stage Manager
Walter Sande   ...   Tobacco Executive
Harvey Jason   ...   Hypnotist
and
Bob Newhart   ...   Merwin Wren

REVIEWS

Review by Timothy (posted on 23-Sep-2007)

One of the best (and yet lesser known) post-"Rob Petrie" roles for Dick Van Dyke, a must-see for Van Dyke fans. The film has plenty of co-stars (such as the late Tom Poston), and a uniquely interesting plotline. A major cigarette company makes a "publicity" offer which is intended to "prove" that smoking is so embedded in our society that anti-smoking efforts are useless: they offer any community that can quit smoking, 100%, for one month, a one million dollar reward. They are confident that it cannot be done. In the small Iowa town of Eagle Rock (on-location filming done in Eagle Grove, Iowa) the residents all vote to win the prize to solve their town's budget crisis, and the effort is headed up by a local minister (Van Dyke), who had once quit smoking, but re-starts to show the townsfolk that they can succeed, and to be a part of the effort. Interestingly, this movie is significant in that prior to the release of this film, most anti-smoking efforts were fairly limited to advertisement by a handful of charitable organizations such as the American Lung Association; but independent efforts grew stronger following the film's brief first run. Dick Van Dyke's two most notable films of the era are family / children's films (Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), and his earlier efforts in more sophisticated films did not fare so well (such as Fitzwilly); perhaps this is why there was not as much focus on this film as it deserves.


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