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Cold Turkey

  • 1971
  • PG-13
  • 1h 39m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
2.7K
YOUR RATING
Cold Turkey (1971)
Hoping for positive publicity, a tobacco company offers $25 million to any American town that quits smoking for 30 days. Amidst a media frenzy, Eagle Rock, Iowa accepts the challenge while the company's PR man tries to sabotage the effort.
Play trailer3:04
1 Video
79 Photos
Dark ComedySatireSlapstickComedy

Hoping for positive publicity, a tobacco company offers $25 million to any American town that quits smoking for 30 days. Amid the media frenzy, Eagle Rock, Iowa accepts the challenge--and th... Read allHoping for positive publicity, a tobacco company offers $25 million to any American town that quits smoking for 30 days. Amid the media frenzy, Eagle Rock, Iowa accepts the challenge--and the company's PR man tries to sabotage the effort.Hoping for positive publicity, a tobacco company offers $25 million to any American town that quits smoking for 30 days. Amid the media frenzy, Eagle Rock, Iowa accepts the challenge--and the company's PR man tries to sabotage the effort.

  • Director
    • Norman Lear
  • Writers
    • Norman Lear
    • William Price Fox
    • Margaret Rau
  • Stars
    • Dick Van Dyke
    • Pippa Scott
    • Tom Poston
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.6/10
    2.7K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Norman Lear
    • Writers
      • Norman Lear
      • William Price Fox
      • Margaret Rau
    • Stars
      • Dick Van Dyke
      • Pippa Scott
      • Tom Poston
    • 59User reviews
    • 24Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

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    Trailer 3:04
    Trailer

    Photos79

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    Top cast48

    Edit
    Dick Van Dyke
    Dick Van Dyke
    • Rev. Clayton Brooks
    Pippa Scott
    Pippa Scott
    • Natalie Brooks
    Tom Poston
    Tom Poston
    • Mr. Stopworth
    Edward Everett Horton
    Edward Everett Horton
    • Hiram C. Grayson
    Bob & Ray
    • Hugh Upson
    • (as Bob and Ray)
    • …
    Vincent Gardenia
    Vincent Gardenia
    • Mayor Quincey L. Wappler
    Barnard Hughes
    Barnard Hughes
    • Dr. Proctor
    Graham Jarvis
    Graham Jarvis
    • Amos Bush
    Jean Stapleton
    Jean Stapleton
    • Mrs. Wappler
    Barbara Cason
    Barbara Cason
    • Letitia Hornsby
    Judith Lowry
    Judith Lowry
    • Odie Turman
    Sudie Bond
    Sudie Bond
    • Cissy
    Helen Page Camp
    Helen Page Camp
    • Mrs. Watson
    Paul Benedict
    Paul Benedict
    • Zen Buddhist
    Simon Scott
    Simon Scott
    • Mr. Kandiss
    Raymond Kark
    • Homer Watson
    Peggy Rea
    Peggy Rea
    • Mrs. Proctor
    Woodrow Parfrey
    Woodrow Parfrey
    • Tobacco Executive
    • Director
      • Norman Lear
    • Writers
      • Norman Lear
      • William Price Fox
      • Margaret Rau
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews59

    6.62.6K
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    Featured reviews

    7chron

    Early Signs of the Norman Lear Touch

    There is a lot more to this movie than initially meets the eye. The obvious humor is good enough, but the social commentary that is wryly interjected makes this a funnier movie the second time around. There is a lot of satire about the media, the tobacco industry and organized religion.

    I can't be completely objective about this movie. It was filmed in my home town when I was 9 years old. My parents, grandmother and step-grandfather and LOTS of people I know are in the crowd scenes. One of those little fuzz balls in the back ground is me, but alas, Hollywood never called <grin>.

    Norman Lear, Dick Van Dyke and many of the other cast members returned to Greenfield, IA for the 30th anniversary celebration. Norman Lear mentioned that the idea for "All in the Family" was rejected by the networks. They never felt that the program would fly in middle America. His experience with the good people of Iowa during the filming reinforced his belief that "All in the Family" would be a hit.

    Watching this movie gives a glimpse into what was to become the genius of Norman Lear. I don't think it is one of the world's all time great comedies, but it is certainly worth a look - or perhaps two.
    Baroque

    Savage satire on the tobacco industry

    Knowing full well that it could never happen, a major tobacco company offers a multi-million dollar prize to any town in the USA that will quit smoking for an entire month.

    What the company doesn't expect is the little town of Eagle Rock, Iowa, and the Reverand Clayton Brooks leading the distressed town to prosperity with the much needed money as incentive.

    The film, the work of TV sit-com legend Norman Lear, is a savage satire of the American tobacco industry, as well as the TV news community (Comic Ray Goulding appears in one scene as "Walter Chronic" in a parody of TV news anchor Walter Cronkite, with a florescent lamp behind his head, forming an angelic halo).

    Many people in the film later went on to become notable television actors, and it's a delight to see how people become so easily unhinged when they're deprived of their nicotine fix (this from a happy non-smoker)!

    Bob Newhart plays an odd villain in this film. A strange role for a man so associated with playing meek roles is cast as a rather icy consultant for the tobacco giants.

    An underrated film that is worth another viewing, if only to have a snicker at the tobacco industry or see the town of Greenfield, Iowa used as a backdrop.
    jaybird2k101

    this is a comedy that needs to be on DVD.

    This comedy is 30 years old, but with today's cries about NO SMOKING it is relivant, and FUNNY! Dick Van Dyke is a riot along with Bob and Ray, and the rest of the "characters" from a small town. The town, led by van dyke , the local preacher, try to quit smoking for 30 days to win a 25 mil$ prize, offered by a tobacco co. for any town that can stop smoking. This film needs to be on DVD. FOR anyone who ever tried to quit "Cold Turkey" , this film will bring back memories, whether you succeded or not.
    8bukster007-1

    A diamond that deserves the DVD treatment

    I can't understand why a film with such big names, both in front of and behind the camera, is not available on DVD. Is there a conspiracy? Does "Big Tobacco" not want anyone to see this? I understand this is a "niche" film, but c'mon, surely there is a small distributor willing to pick up the rights and get this into the hands of the people? Dick Van Dykes name alone should be enough to warrant a release, along with Bob Newhart and Norman Lear. I guess that unless there are some big, firey explosions or gratuitous nudity (not that there's anything wrong with that)then something isn't worthy of a DVD release. This is a well-acted and scripted satire of the culture of smoking and gives great insight into how smoking was treated 35 years ago.
    9tgibbs279

    Hilarious, Underrated Satire

    Fantastic movie comedy -- easily one of the best satires of American life ever put on film. Norman Lear wrote and directed this gem just before moving on to "All In The Family". "Cold Turkey" and "All In The Family" are his two greatest creations. It begins with the script. It's funny from beginning to end. The script has clever dialogue, inventive ideas, an eye for detail. I can't do it justice. Just see the movie. The cast includes many of my all-time favorites, including Dick Van Dyke, Bob Newhart, Tom Poston, Barnard Hughes, and Jean Stapleton. You'll see a lot of people you recognize from other movies and sitcoms of the 1970s, including many who turned up on "All In The Family" and other Lear shows. "Cold Turkey" is also the best movie showcase for possibly the greatest comedy team of all time. Bob & Ray are brilliant satirizing newscasters of the time, like Walter Cronkite, David Brinkley, Paul Harvey, and Hugh Downs. If you're not a Bob & Ray fan, hopefully this movie will make you one. Randy Newman's soundtrack is terrific. If it ever came out on a CD, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. And it helps that the movie, which is set in a small Iowa town, was actually filmed in a small Iowa town, rather than some Hollywood backlot. It gives the movie a feeling of authenticity. This movie should have been on the AFI 100 Best Comedies list. See it.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Dropping the cigarettes onto the crowd, in the last midnight town square gathering, was actually done by putting 8" diameter, 25'-long pipes against the trees in the town square. The pipes were then filled with cigarettes. Then, on cue, air was blasted into the pipe bottom, shooting them into the air and onto the crowd. After each take everyone was asked to gather up the cigarettes from the ground and turn them in so they could be reloaded into the cigarette canons and rained down again. The filming of this final scene took several weeks in the late fall in Iowa where it is pretty cold. In the movie it is supposed to be summer time so the actresses are dressed in summer dresses. Between takes, everyone (actors and extras) were huddled in winter coats sucking on ice cubes. The ice cubes kept their mouths and breath cold so there would be no visible vapor when they exhaled.
    • Goofs
      Bishop Manley calls Dearborn, Michigan "General Motors country." Actually, Dearborn is the home of Ford Motor Company, its world headquarters and its flagship River Rouge plant. No GM facilities have been located in Dearborn.
    • Quotes

      Edgar Stopworth: My drinking is directly connected to my smoking. Now, when I say "directly", I mean there's a thing - a physical thing - that is directly connected from my liquor buds to the smoke pouch in my lungs. If you want me to quit smoking, you would have to cut - I mean, you'd have to physically cut that thing! And when you do, my head's gonna fall off! Do you understand, reverman? The booze bone's connected to the smoke bone. And the smoke bone's connected to the head bone. and that's the word of the lord!

    • Connections
      Featured in Casting By (2012)
    • Soundtracks
      He Gives Us All His Love
      Written and Performed by Randy Newman

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    FAQ

    • How long is Cold Turkey?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 8, 1971 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Der 25 Millionen Dollar Preis
    • Filming locations
      • Greenfield, Iowa, USA
    • Production companies
      • Tandem Productions
      • DFI
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $11,990,000
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 39 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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