Champagne for Caesar

Last updated
Champagne for Caesar
Champagne-for-caesar-1950.jpg
Film poster
Directed by Richard Whorf
Written byFred Brady
Hans Jacoby
Produced by George Moskov
Leo C. Popkin
Starring Ronald Colman
Celeste Holm
Vincent Price
Cinematography Paul Ivano
Edited by Hugh Bennett
Music by Dimitri Tiomkin
Production
company
Cardinal Pictures
Distributed by United Artists
Release date
  • May 11, 1950 (1950-05-11)
Running time
99 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Champagne for Caesar is a 1950 American comedy film about a quiz show contestant. It was directed by Richard Whorf and written by Fred Brady and Hans Jacoby. The movie stars Ronald Colman, Celeste Holm, Vincent Price, Barbara Britton and Art Linkletter. The film was produced by Harry M. Popkin for his Cardinal Pictures and released by United Artists.

Contents

Plot

Beauregard Bottomley is a polymath who lives in Los Angeles with his piano-instructor sister Gwenn and an alcohol-guzzling parrot they found named Caesar (voiced by Mel Blanc). Beauregard is knowledgeable on any subject—except how to hold a job.

Beauregard and Gwenn watch a quiz show, Masquerade for Money, hosted by Happy Hogan, and sponsored by Milady Soap. Each contestant dresses up in a particular costume, which determines the type of questions asked, with the prize money doubling with each correct answer, starting at $5 and reaching a maximum of $160. A contestant can quit anytime, but an incorrect response results in no money won. Beauregard is contemptuous of the show.

A representative of the State of California Department of Employment encourages Beauregard to interview for a job at the Milady Soap Company. Beauregard meets the company's eccentric owner, Burnbridge Waters, who disapproves of Beauregard's humor and rejects him. To get even, Beauregard enters Masquerade for Money, dressed as an encyclopedia, which means the host can ask him about anything. Before the questions begin, Happy starts to praise the qualities of Milady Soap, but Beauregard says that it works just like any other soap, outraging Waters. Beauregard easily answers the maximum six questions, then requests one more, which he also answers, earning $320. Beauregard turns down the money and asks to return next week.

Waters invites Beauregard back for one question per show for six weeks and heavily publicizes it. "Masquerade for Money" tops the ratings, and sales of Milady Soap skyrocket.

At the end of that time, Waters approves of giving Beauregard an impossibly hard question, but when Beauregard answers it correctly, Waters becomes uneasy. Happy offers to take piano lessons from Gwenn to try to find a weakness in Beauregard. Beauregard sees through the scheme, but Gwenn sneaks out on a date with Happy anyway. When Gwenn tells Happy that she and her brother think that he is just trying to get information from her, he admits that he is but also says that he is glad to have met her. Gwenn tells Happy that Beauregard intends to win $40 million, to take everything that Waters has. Happy tells Waters, who cancels the show and sends Beauregard a check for his current winnings ($40,000), which Beauregard refuses to accept.

Sales for Milady Soap plummet, forcing Waters to reinstate the show. Beauregard reaches $10 million. Waters calls in a scheming "Flame" O'Neill to distract Beauregard. Beauregard catches a cold from being in a rainstorm, so Flame pretends to be a nurse to him. Beauregard is aware of, but nevertheless quickly succumbs to, Flame's charms (as does Waters). The night of the show, Beauregard states that he never mastered Albert Einstein's "space-time theories". The next question is, of course, about Einstein's views of space-time. Realizing Flame has betrayed him, Beauregard initially struggles but eventually comes up with an answer. Happy says that it is incorrect. However, Einstein himself telephones before the end of the show to say that the answer is correct. Afterward, Beauregard confronts Flame, who has fallen for him. Unaware of this, Beauregard spanks her with her hairbrush and informs her that he deliberately misled her, that he actually "spent an entire season with Einstein", but also admits that he has fallen in love with her.

Waters books the Hollywood Bowl for the last show. Happy and Gwenn and Beauregard and Flame each plan to marry. Beauregard and Gwenn caution each other that their would-be spouses could be just after the money. Each calls and suggests marrying before the show, but Happy and Flame each come up with excuses.

For the final question, Happy asks Beauregard what his Social Security number is. Beauregard answers incorrectly. After the show, to the joy of Beauregard and Gwenn, Flame and Happy still want to marry them. Waters shows up at Beauregard's home, bearing gifts, including champagne. (Caesar used to be Waters' pet.) As Beauregard and Flame drive to Las Vegas to get married, Beauregard reveals that he and Waters had made a deal in which Beauregard would lose in exchange for getting his own radio show, some stock, and other considerations. Beauregard was motivated to make such a deal because two Treasury agents had signaled their intent to tax a significant amount of his winnings. Beauregard then admits that he actually did not know the answer.

Cast

  • John Eldredge as Executive No. 1
  • Lyle Talbot as Executive No. 2
  • George Leigh as Executive No. 3
  • John Hart as Executive No. 4
  • Mel Blanc as Caesar (voice)
  • Peter Brocco as Fortune Teller
  • Brian O'Hara as Buck (T man)
  • Jack Daly as Scratch (T man)
  • Gordon Nelson as Lecturer
  • Herbert Lytton as Chuck Johnson
  • George Meader as Mr. Brown

Reception

In his 1950 review of the film in The New York Times , Bosley Crowther panned the film, sparing only Holm:

"Some of his [Vincent Price's] broad aberrations offer faintly satirical thrusts at advertising genius, but most of them are duds. Mr. Coleman's exquisite urbanity wears awfully thin as time goes on. ... With Celeste Holm playing the charmer, there is some evident reason, at least, for the hero's infatuation. But with a chap named Art Linkletter cast as the quiz-master, we cannot fathom the basis for the sister's romance." [1]

Contemporary criticism of the story indicated that the film violated Beauregard's criticism of the nature of quiz shows in its final plot twist, with Beauregard being given his own quiz show [2] [3] - unless Beauregard were to use the opportunity to reform quiz shows by having one that is truly intellectually stimulating.

Nicholas Laham has analysed the treatment of Beauregard as a highly educated, yet unemployable, character in the context of how scholars were regarded in the 1950s, and in anticipation of the unemployment of information-based, highly educated people in later decades in the information age/"new economy". Laham also places Champagne for Caesar in the historical lineage of screwball comedy, over a decade after that genre had reached its peak before World War II. [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Weakest Link</i> (British game show) British television quiz show

The Weakest Link is a British television quiz show, mainly broadcast on BBC Two and BBC One. It was devised by Fintan Coyle and Cathy Dunning and developed for television by the BBC Entertainment Department. The game begins with a team of nine contestants, who take turns answering general knowledge questions within a time limit to create chains of nine correct answers in a row. At the end of each round, the players then vote one contestant, "the weakest link", out of the game. After two players are left, they play in a head-to-head penalty shootout format, with five questions asked to each contestant in turn, to determine the winner.

<i>The $64,000 Question</i> American game show

The $64,000 Question was an American game show broadcast in primetime on CBS-TV from 1955 to 1958, which became embroiled in the 1950s quiz show scandals. Contestants answered general knowledge questions, earning money which doubled as the questions became more difficult. The final question had a top prize of $64,000, hence the "$64,000 Question" in the show's title.

<i>You Bet Your Life</i> American radio and television comedy quiz game show

You Bet Your Life is an American comedy quiz series that has aired on both radio and television. The original version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. The show debuted on ABC Radio on October 27, 1947, moved to CBS Radio debuting October 5, 1949, and went to NBC-TV and NBC Radio on October 4, 1950. Because of its simple format, it was possible to broadcast the show on both radio and television but not simultaneously. Many of the laughs on the television show were evoked by Groucho's facial reactions and other visual gimmicks; the two versions were slightly different. The last episode in a radio format aired on June 10, 1960. The series continued on television for another year, recording a season on September 22, 1960 with a new title, The Groucho Show.

<i>Twenty-One</i> (game show) American quiz show

Twenty-One is an American game show originally hosted by Jack Barry that initially aired on NBC from 1956 to 1958. Produced by Jack Barry-Dan Enright Productions, two contestants competed against each other in separate isolation booths, answering general-knowledge questions to earn 21 total points. The program became notorious when it was found to be rigged as part of the 1950s quiz show scandals, which nearly caused the demise of the entire genre in the wake of United States Senate investigations. The 1994 film Quiz Show is based on these events. A new version of the show aired on NBC in 2000 with Maury Povich as host.

<i>The Einstein Factor</i> Australian TV series or program

The Einstein Factor was an Australian television quiz show that was broadcast on ABC1. The show's host is comedian and broadcaster Peter Berner. It was first broadcast in 2004 and in 2009 the show commenced its sixth and final season, with the ABC announcing the program would not be renewed in 2010. The final episode aired on 22 November 2009. It was broadcast on Sunday nights at 6:30 pm from 2004 until 2009 & also on Tuesdays at 1:30pm on ABC. The Einstein Factor was created by Australian television producer, Barry O'Brien, and was produced by Sparkz with Ian Duncan and Shaun Levin as Executive Producers.

<i>The Jackpot</i> 1950 film by Walter Lang

The Jackpot is a 1950 American comedy film directed by Walter Lang, with James Stewart and Barbara Hale in the lead roles. It features a young Natalie Wood.

<i>Tic-Tac-Dough</i> American game show

Tic-Tac-Dough is an American television game show based on the paper-and-pencil game of tic-tac-toe. Contestants answer questions in various categories to put up their respective symbol, X or O, on the board. Three versions were produced: the initial 1956–59 run on NBC, a 1978–86 run initially on CBS and then in syndication, and a syndicated run in 1990. The show was produced by Barry & Enright Productions.

<i>Caesars Challenge</i> American television game show

Caesars Challenge is an American game show that aired on NBC from June 14, 1993, to January 14, 1994, and was recorded at the Circus Maximus Theatre of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ahmad Rashad hosted the series and, in keeping with the theme of the show's location, he was assisted by a man dressed as a Roman gladiator. Dan Doherty played the role for most of the show's run, with Chad Brown and Zach Ruby handling the earliest episodes before Doherty joined the show.

Three on a Match is an American television game show created by Bob Stewart that ran on NBC from August 2, 1971 to June 28, 1974 on its daytime schedule. The host was Bill Cullen and Don Pardo served as announcer on most episodes, with Bob Clayton and NBC staffers Wayne Howell and Roger Tuttle substituting at times.

Double Your Money was a British quiz show hosted by Hughie Green. Originally broadcast on Radio Luxembourg since 1950 and based on the American radio quiz Take It Or Leave It (1940–1947), it transferred to ITV in September 1955, a few days after the commercial channel began broadcasting. It was produced by Associated-Rediffusion until 1964 and then by Rediffusion London and it finished in 1968 when the company lost its franchise. There were 260 thirty-minute episodes.

<i>The Mint</i> (British game show) British TV series or program

The Mint was a live, late night, interactive quiz show with celebrity guests and live studio contestants filmed on a large extravagant set designed to look like the inside of a mansion. The programme, which was dogged by criticism that its questions were ambiguous and arbitrary, aired on ITV and ITV2, Sunday to Wednesday. On 26 February 2007, ITV announced that The Mint would return to screens later in 2007, however an announcement on 12 September 2007 confirmed that the show, along with similar late night phone ins, would not be returning.

<i>The Big Surprise</i> American TV quiz show

The Big Surprise is a television quiz show broadcast in the United States by NBC from October 8, 1955, to June 9, 1956, and from September 18, 1956, to April 2, 1957. It was hastily created by NBC in response to the ratings success of The $64,000 Question, which had premiered on CBS in summer 1955 and almost instantly became a hit. The Big Surprise offered a grand prize of $100,000.

<i>Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?</i> (American game show) American quiz game show

Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? is an American quiz game show. It originally aired on Fox where it was hosted by Jeff Foxworthy. It is produced by Mark Burnett. The show premiered as a three-day special which began on February 27, 2007, with the first two shows each a half-hour in length. Regular one-hour episodes began airing Thursdays from March 1 through May 10, and the first season continued with new episodes beginning May 31. Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? was picked up for the 2007–08 season, which began on September 6, 2007, and aired in the same timeslot. Following the end of the original run of the primetime version on September 18, 2009, a first-run syndicated version of the show ran from September 2009 to May 2011, with Foxworthy returning as host. On May 26, 2015, the program returned to Fox for a new, 4th season, with Foxworthy, again, returning as host. On February 14, 2019, it was announced that the program would be revived on Nickelodeon with new host John Cena, airing from June 10 to November 3, 2019. There are new reports that the show may be returning on Amazon Prime Video with new host Travis Kelce.

<i>People Are Bunny</i> 1959 film

People Are Bunny is a 1959 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon, directed by Robert McKimson The short was released on December 19, 1959, and stars Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.

Break the Bank is an American quiz show which aired variously – and sometimes co-existed in separate radio and television forms – on Mutual Radio, ABC Radio and NBC Radio Network, as well ABC, CBS and NBC television, from 1945 to 1957. From October 1956 to January 1957, NBC aired a short-lived prime-time television version called Break the $250,000 Bank.

<i>Break the Bank</i> (1976 game show) American TV series or program

Break the Bank is an American game show created by Jack Barry and Dan Enright and produced by their production company, Barry & Enright Productions. It was the first game show packaged by Barry and Enright as a tandem since their fall from grace following the 1950s quiz show scandals.

The Mole is an Australian reality television show that aired on the Seven Network. It is based on other versions of the original Belgian TV series The Mole that have aired in numerous countries. The most recent season aired in 2013.

Panel Quiz Attack 25 is a game show airing once weekly on the Asahi Broadcasting Corporation network in Japan. The program first aired on April 6, 1975.

The Chase is an American television quiz show adapted from the British program of the same name. It premiered on August 6, 2013, on the Game Show Network (GSN). It was hosted by Brooke Burns and featured Mark Labbett as the "chaser". A revival of the show premiered on January 7, 2021, on ABC. It is hosted by Sara Haines and initially featured as the chasers Jeopardy! champions James Holzhauer, Ken Jennings, and Brad Rutter. Labbett returned as a chaser in June 2021, before stepping down in 2022 along with Jennings. In their place are Buzzy Cohen, Brandon Blackwell, and Victoria Groce.

Gefragt – Gejagt (Asked—Chased) is a quiz show that has been broadcast on German television since 2012. It is the German adaptation of ITV's show The Chase.

References

  1. Bosley Crowther (1950-05-12). "The Screen: Ronald Colman Plays Winner of Quiz Program in Popkin's Champagne for Caesar". The New York Times . Retrieved 2009-12-16.
  2. Review of Champagne for Caesar. Life, 10 April 1950, pp 119-122.
  3. "The New Pictures, May 8, 1950". Time . 8 May 1950. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved 2011-05-30.
  4. Laham. Nicholas, Currents of Comedy on the American Screen. McFarland & Company (Jefferson, North Carolina, USA), p 49 ( ISBN   978-0-7864-4264-5, 2009).