Cold Turkey (film)
Encyclopedia
Cold Turkey is a 1971 satirical comedy
film
. It stars Dick Van Dyke
plus a long list of comedic actors, several of whom are well known to North American television
audiences. The film was directed, co-produced and co-written by Norman Lear
and is based on the novel I'm Giving Them Up for Good by Margaret and Neil Rau.
Cold Turkey features original music by Randy Newman
including "He Gives Us All His Love
", a ballad with a gospel
influence that serves as the film's theme song. This was Newman's first film soundtrack.
The film was made in 1969, but was shelved for two years by the distributor due to concerns about its box-office potential.
It was only released on VHS
and LaserDisc
(1993) in the pan-and-scan format. On 3 May 2010 Cold Turkey was released on DVD through Amazon.com with manufacturing on demand and it is still occasionally shown on various cable and satellite channels.
A musical theatre
version of Cold Turkey was workshopped at the Village Theatre
in Issaquah, Washington in February, 2005.
and marketing
strategy to compare the empathy of Big Tobacco to the nobility of the Nobel Peace Prize, advertising executive Merwin Wren (Bob Newhart
) convinces the Valiant Tobacco Company to propose a challenge: a tax-free check for $25,000,000 (equal to $ today). to any city or town in America that can stop smoking
, or go cold turkey
, for thirty days.
According to Wren, the offer will generate Valiant worldwide free publicity and praise as a humanitarian gesture, but no town in America would ever be able to claim the prize, cigarette smoking being too addictive to stop.
The Reverend Clayton Brooks (Dick Van Dyke
), a kindly but fearsome minister
of the Eagle Rock Community Church, takes up the challenge as a spiritual call. He urges the economically depressed fictional community of Eagle Rock (population 4,006), Iowa, to go for the prize.
The town council has been trying to woo back the military ever since it closed a base a few years back, hoping its return would help the local cash flow. Families have been moving out almost on a monthly basis and the town center is almost deserted.
Reverend Brooks recruits every smoker in the town to sign up. Needled for not smoking himself (he used to but quit), he begins to find solidarity with his "flock."
At midnight, the challenge begins. For the next thirty days, no smoking is permitted, Eagle Rock being the only city in America that got all of its smokers to pledge.
The tobacco company sends Merwin to report the progress of the townspeople's commitment. The company needs just one person to fail. Among the weakest: alcoholic
Edgar Stopworth (Tom Poston
); the elderly Doctor Proctor (Barnard Hughes
), who must always have a cigarette before surgery, and the anxiety
-ridden wife of the mayor, Mrs. Wappler (Jean Stapleton), who counts the small gherkin pickles she eats as the hours pass. However, a group of 29 non-smoking residents, all members of the ultra-conservative Christopher Mott Society (possibly based on the John Birch Society
) have been asked by Brooks to police all traffic entering Eagle Rock to ensure no tobacco products enter. A running gag ensues when elderly Odie Turman (Judith Lowry) keeps needling leader Amos Bush (Graham Jarvis) about his pistol, which she later steals.
Eventually, the attention of the nation's leading newscasters at the time (all played by the comedy duo Bob and Ray
), turns the small community's efforts into a matter of highly publicized failure or success. Soon the community is invaded by buxom "massage therapists," beer vendors, souvenir shops and more. Rev. Clayton appears on a Time
magazine cover, which leads him to another epiphany: if he can save the town, he will be a hero.
Merwin is told by Valiant's board members to undermine the town's efforts at all costs, doing whatever he can to get someone to smoke before the thirty days are up, leading to hilarious results as the clock ticks down.
, and many local people were used as extras
. Some neighborhood scenes were shot in Winterset, Iowa
. The Methodist church in Orient, Iowa
, and the bank in Macksburg, Iowa
, were used as well. The Grayson Mansion scenes were filmed at Terrace Hill
, located in Des Moines, Iowa
. Some were also shot in the town of Columbia
in south central Kentucky
.
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
. It stars Dick Van Dyke
Dick Van Dyke
Richard Wayne "Dick" Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer with a career spanning six decades. He is the older brother of Jerry Van Dyke, and father of Barry Van Dyke...
plus a long list of comedic actors, several of whom are well known to North American television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
audiences. The film was directed, co-produced and co-written by Norman Lear
Norman Lear
Norman Milton Lear is an American television writer and producer who produced such 1970s sitcoms as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times and Maude...
and is based on the novel I'm Giving Them Up for Good by Margaret and Neil Rau.
Cold Turkey features original music by Randy Newman
Randy Newman
Randall Stuart "Randy" Newman is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his mordant pop songs and for film scores....
including "He Gives Us All His Love
He Gives Us All His Love
"He Gives Us All His Love" is a song written and performed by Randy Newman. It first appeared in the 1971 film Cold Turkey, for which it served as a sort of theme song and played during the opening credits....
", a ballad with a gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
influence that serves as the film's theme song. This was Newman's first film soundtrack.
The film was made in 1969, but was shelved for two years by the distributor due to concerns about its box-office potential.
It was only released on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and LaserDisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
(1993) in the pan-and-scan format. On 3 May 2010 Cold Turkey was released on DVD through Amazon.com with manufacturing on demand and it is still occasionally shown on various cable and satellite channels.
A musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
version of Cold Turkey was workshopped at the Village Theatre
Village Theatre
Village Theatre is a 5013 non-profit professional producing musical theatre company founded in 1979. Village Theatre is based out of Issaquah and Everett, Washington, both near Seattle...
in Issaquah, Washington in February, 2005.
Plot
As part of a public relationsPublic relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
and marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
strategy to compare the empathy of Big Tobacco to the nobility of the Nobel Peace Prize, advertising executive Merwin Wren (Bob Newhart
Bob Newhart
George Robert Newhart , known professionally as Bob Newhart, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Noted for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery, Newhart came to prominence in the 1960s when his album of comedic monologues The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was a worldwide...
) convinces the Valiant Tobacco Company to propose a challenge: a tax-free check for $25,000,000 (equal to $ today). to any city or town in America that can stop smoking
Tobacco smoking
Tobacco smoking is the practice where tobacco is burned and the resulting smoke is inhaled. The practice may have begun as early as 5000–3000 BCE. Tobacco was introduced to Eurasia in the late 16th century where it followed common trade routes...
, or go cold turkey
Cold turkey
"Cold turkey" describes the actions of a person who abruptly gives up a habit or addiction rather than gradually easing the process through gradual reduction or by using replacement medication....
, for thirty days.
According to Wren, the offer will generate Valiant worldwide free publicity and praise as a humanitarian gesture, but no town in America would ever be able to claim the prize, cigarette smoking being too addictive to stop.
The Reverend Clayton Brooks (Dick Van Dyke
Dick Van Dyke
Richard Wayne "Dick" Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer with a career spanning six decades. He is the older brother of Jerry Van Dyke, and father of Barry Van Dyke...
), a kindly but fearsome minister
Minister of religion
In Christian churches, a minister is someone who is authorized by a church or religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidance to the community...
of the Eagle Rock Community Church, takes up the challenge as a spiritual call. He urges the economically depressed fictional community of Eagle Rock (population 4,006), Iowa, to go for the prize.
The town council has been trying to woo back the military ever since it closed a base a few years back, hoping its return would help the local cash flow. Families have been moving out almost on a monthly basis and the town center is almost deserted.
Reverend Brooks recruits every smoker in the town to sign up. Needled for not smoking himself (he used to but quit), he begins to find solidarity with his "flock."
At midnight, the challenge begins. For the next thirty days, no smoking is permitted, Eagle Rock being the only city in America that got all of its smokers to pledge.
The tobacco company sends Merwin to report the progress of the townspeople's commitment. The company needs just one person to fail. Among the weakest: alcoholic
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
Edgar Stopworth (Tom Poston
Tom Poston
Thomas Gordon "Tom" Poston was an American television and film actor. He starred on television in a career that began in 1950...
); the elderly Doctor Proctor (Barnard Hughes
Barnard Hughes
Bernard Aloysius Kiernan “Barnard” Hughes was an American actor of theater and film. Hughes became famous for a variety of roles; his most notable roles came after middle age, and he was often cast as a dithering authority figure or grandfatherly elder.-Personal life:Hughes was born in Bedford...
), who must always have a cigarette before surgery, and the anxiety
Anxiety
Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. The root meaning of the word anxiety is 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness,...
-ridden wife of the mayor, Mrs. Wappler (Jean Stapleton), who counts the small gherkin pickles she eats as the hours pass. However, a group of 29 non-smoking residents, all members of the ultra-conservative Christopher Mott Society (possibly based on the John Birch Society
John Birch Society
The John Birch Society is an American political advocacy group that supports anti-communism, limited government, a Constitutional Republic and personal freedom. It has been described as radical right-wing....
) have been asked by Brooks to police all traffic entering Eagle Rock to ensure no tobacco products enter. A running gag ensues when elderly Odie Turman (Judith Lowry) keeps needling leader Amos Bush (Graham Jarvis) about his pistol, which she later steals.
Eventually, the attention of the nation's leading newscasters at the time (all played by the comedy duo Bob and Ray
Bob and Ray
Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding were an American comedy team whose career spanned five decades. Their format was typically to satirize the medium in which they were performing, such as conducting radio or television interviews, with off-the-wall dialogue presented in a generally deadpan style as...
), turns the small community's efforts into a matter of highly publicized failure or success. Soon the community is invaded by buxom "massage therapists," beer vendors, souvenir shops and more. Rev. Clayton appears on a Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine cover, which leads him to another epiphany: if he can save the town, he will be a hero.
Merwin is told by Valiant's board members to undermine the town's efforts at all costs, doing whatever he can to get someone to smoke before the thirty days are up, leading to hilarious results as the clock ticks down.
Quotes
- Crossing guard to little girl: Hey you! Where the devil do you think you're going? Did I give you the signal? Shut up, I don't give a damn what you've got to say - next time, you wait for my cigarette - uh, signal! Who the hell do you people think you are, anyway?
- Odie Turman: I'll tell that to a Communist when he H-bombs me! Before you H-bomb me, you go over to that man with a gun and get captured! (immediately followed in the uncensored version) You're a bullshit, Amos Bush!
- Odie Turman: He's a Communist - look at them cigarettes!
- Odie Turman: Sure, and I'm an unwed mother.
- Edgar Stopworth: The booze bone is connected to the smoke bone...
- Merwin Wren: Big clocks are never wrong!
- Merwin Wren: Repeat after me, gentlemen, in Wren we trust...
- TV director: I don't want his goddamn cuff links - get me a shot of the President!
- Natalie Brooks: We've become a pack of monsters! Do you know what that makes you? A monster-maker!
- Man on operating table: For God's sake, let him smoke!
- Mr. Candace (president of the United Tobacco Co. to David Chetley): Badly, very badly! Now you leave me the f(bleep)k alone!
- Mr. Candace, 11 days later (movie time) to Chetley: I told you to leave me the f(bleep)k alone!
Setting
Although the story takes place in "Eagle Rock, Iowa," most of it was filmed in the small town of Greenfield, IowaGreenfield, Iowa
Greenfield is a city in Greenfield Township, Adair County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,129 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Adair County. The current courthouse, which sits in the middle of the Greenfield Square, was built in 1891 and is listed on the National Register of...
, and many local people were used as extras
Extra (actor)
A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera or ballet production, who appears in a nonspeaking, nonsinging or nondancing capacity, usually in the background...
. Some neighborhood scenes were shot in Winterset, Iowa
Winterset, Iowa
Winterset is a city in Madison County, Iowa, United States. The population was 4,768 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Madison County....
. The Methodist church in Orient, Iowa
Orient, Iowa
Orient is a city in Orient Township, Adair County, Iowa, United States. The population was 402 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Orient is located at ....
, and the bank in Macksburg, Iowa
Macksburg, Iowa
Macksburg is a city in Madison County, Iowa, United States. The population was 142 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area. -Geography:Macksburg is located at ....
, were used as well. The Grayson Mansion scenes were filmed at Terrace Hill
Terrace Hill
Terrace Hill, also known as Hubbell Mansion, Benjamin F. Allen House, and Iowa Governor's Mansion, is the official residence of the Governor of Iowa. Located in Des Moines, Iowa, it is an example of Second Empire architecture. The home measures 18,000 square feet...
, located in Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
. Some were also shot in the town of Columbia
Columbia, Kentucky
Columbia is a city in Adair County, Kentucky, United States, just above Russell Creek. The area was settled around 1802 by Daniel Trabue. The post office was opened on April 1, 1806 by John Field, who also ran a local store. The population was 4,014 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of...
in south central Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
.
Actors
- Veteran actor Edward Everett HortonEdward Everett HortonEdward Everett Horton was an American character actor. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television and voice work for animated cartoons. He is especially known for his work in the films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.-Early life:Horton was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Isabella...
, whose career began in 1906, plays tobaccoTobaccoTobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
company president Hiram C. "Mr. Tobacco' Grayson in a wheelchairWheelchairA wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
and without dialogue. This was Horton's final role, and he died before the film was released. - Director Norman LearNorman LearNorman Milton Lear is an American television writer and producer who produced such 1970s sitcoms as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times and Maude...
has a three-second cameo approximately 2/3 of the way into the film. He is shown as one of the townspeople sitting down and crying because he is unable to get a cigarette fix. - Maureen McCormickMaureen McCormickMaureen Denise McCormick is an American actress, celebrity and recording artist. She is most widely known as a child actress who played Marcia Brady in the television series The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974.- Early life and career :...
, best known for her role as Marcia Brady on television's The Brady BunchThe Brady BunchThe Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz and starring Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, and Ann B. Davis. The series revolved around a large blended family...
, provides the voice of a talking doll in the film, which says "I love you! - smoking gives you cancer!" - The characters played by Bob and RayBob and RayBob Elliott and Ray Goulding were an American comedy team whose career spanned five decades. Their format was typically to satirize the medium in which they were performing, such as conducting radio or television interviews, with off-the-wall dialogue presented in a generally deadpan style as...
are parodies of real-life news and broadcasting personalities: "Walter Chronic" (Walter CronkiteWalter CronkiteWalter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years . During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll...
), "Hugh Upson" (Hugh DownsHugh DownsHugh Malcolm Downs is a long time American broadcaster, television host, news anchor, TV producer, author, game show host, and music composer; and is perhaps best known for his role as co-host the NBC News program Today from 1962 to 1971, host of the Concentration game show from 1958 to 1969, and...
), "David Chetley" (Chet HuntleyChet HuntleyChester Robert "Chet" Huntley was an American television newscaster, best known for co-anchoring NBC's evening news program, The Huntley-Brinkley Report, for 14 years beginning in 1956.-Early life:...
/David BrinkleyDavid BrinkleyDavid McClure Brinkley was an American newscaster for NBC and ABC in a career lasting from 1943 to 1997....
), "Arthur Lordly" (Arthur GodfreyArthur GodfreyArthur Morton Godfrey was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname, The Old Redhead...
), "Paul Hardly" (Paul HarveyPaul HarveyPaul Harvey Aurandt , better known as Paul Harvey, was an American radio broadcaster for the ABC Radio Networks. He broadcast News and Comment on weekday mornings and mid-days, and at noon on Saturdays, as well as his famous The Rest of the Story segments. His listening audience was estimated, at...
), and "Sandy Van Andy" (Sander VanocurSander VanocurSander "Sandy" Vanocur is an American journalist.- Career :Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Vanocur moved to Peoria, Illinois when he was twelve years old. After attending Western Military Academy in Alton, Illinois, he earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the Northwestern...
). The film's promotional trailer features different newscasters, "Hardly Reasonable" (Harry ReasonerHarry ReasonerHarry Truman Reasoner was an American journalist for ABC and CBS News, known for his inventive use of language as a television commentator, and as a founder of the 60 Minutes program.-Biography:...
) and "Mike Walrus" (Mike WallaceMike Wallace (journalist)Myron Leon "Mike" Wallace is an American journalist, former game show host, actor and media personality. During his 60+ year career, he has interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers....
), one of whom is played by Paul DooleyPaul Dooley-Personal life:Dooley was born Paul Dooley Brown in Parkersburg, West Virginia, the son of Ruth Irene , a homemaker, and Peter James Brown, a factory worker. Dooley was a cartoonist as a youth and drew a strip for a local paper in Parkersburg. He joined the Navy before discovering acting while at...
(who does not appear in the final film). - A number of actors appearing in the film -- Jean Stapleton, Vincent GardeniaVincent GardeniaVincent Gardenia was an Italian American stage, film, and television actor.-Early life:...
, Paul BenedictPaul BenedictPaul Benedict was an American actor who made numerous appearances in television and movies beginning in the 1960s...
and Barnard HughesBarnard HughesBernard Aloysius Kiernan “Barnard” Hughes was an American actor of theater and film. Hughes became famous for a variety of roles; his most notable roles came after middle age, and he was often cast as a dithering authority figure or grandfatherly elder.-Personal life:Hughes was born in Bedford...
-- would go on to work with Lear in the coming years on his various television projects.