Cold Turkey (1971)
- Directed by
- Norman Lear
- Genre
- comedy film
- Country
- United States
- Runtime
- 1h 39m
- Rated
- PG-13
- Rating
- 6.2 of 10 from 30 voters
- Elsewhere
- IMDb
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
A tobacco company offers a huge cash prize to any town where nobody smokes for a month. A small, struggling town takes the challenge but finds it harder than expected.
satiricaldarkly comicbittersweetbleakhigh-energyabsurdunevenwrycynical
What happens
Cold Turkey is a 1971 satirical black comedy film starring Dick Van Dyke and a long list of comedic actors. The film was written for the screen, produced, and directed by Norman Lear, marking his directorial debut and his only directorial feature film credit. Cold Turkey was based on the unpublished novel I'm Giving Them Up for Good by Margaret and Neil Rau. Randy Newman composed and performed original music for the film. In the film, the fictional Valiant Tobacco Company stages a publicity stunt, offering $25 million tax-free dollars to any American town whose entire population can stop smoking cigarettes for a month. A charismatic, ambitious preacher, Reverend Clayton Brooks, encourages the depressed small town of Eagle Rock, Iowa, to take on the challenge, but the town struggles to overcome its addiction to tobacco. The film was shot in Greenfield, Iowa and local residents served as extras. The film was produced in 1969 but was shelved for two years by the distributor over concerns about its box-office potential. The film was also released soon after the launch of Lear's television show All in the Family, with The New York Times also comparing All In The Family and Cold Turkey as "gimmick" comedies which involved satire targeting of various aspects the American society. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
More like this
This Stuff'll Kill Ya! (1971)
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
Marijuana Stop! (1971)
Harold and Maude (1971)
Welcome to the Club (1971)
Preacherman (1971)
The Battle of Love's Return (1971)
Congratulations, It's a Boy! (1971)- More like this film, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.