Champagne for Caesar
| Champagne for Caesar | |
|---|---|
Film poster
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| Directed by | Richard Whorf |
| Produced by | George Moskov Leo C. Popkin |
| Written by | Fred Brady and Hans Jacoby |
| Starring |
Ronald Colman Celeste Holm Vincent Price |
| Music by | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| Cinematography | Paul Ivano |
| Edited by | Hugh Bennett |
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Production
company |
Cardinal Pictures
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| Distributed by | United Artists |
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Release date
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Running time
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99 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Champagne for Caesar is a 1950 American comedy film about a television quiz show, 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.
Beauregard Bottomley (Ronald Colman) is an unemployed PhD physicist who lives in Los Angeles with his piano-instructor sister Gwenn (Barbara Britton) and the alcohol-guzzling parrot of the film's title, Caesar (Mel Blanc, voice). Beauregard and Gwenn live in a bungalow court, surrounded by books. Beauregard is an omnivorous reader, knowledgeable on any subject -- except, as he admits, how to hold a job. Beauregard learns of a job opportunity at the Milady Soap Company. He meets the eccentric owner, Burnbridge Waters (Vincent Price), for an interview. Waters disapproves of Beauregard's humour and turns him down for the job, humiliating him in the process.
In front of an appliance store window, Beauregard, Gwenn and others, none of whom have television sets at home yet, watch a quiz show, Masquerade for Money, whose sponsor is Milady Soap. The prize won by costume-wearing contestants doubles with each correct answer (in the style of the 1940s radio show The $64 Question). If anyone misses just one question, he or she loses all that was won to that point.
Beauregard is contemptuous of television and what he deems its anti-intellectual nature, particularly after seeing Masquarade for Money and its flamboyant host, Happy Hogan (Art Linkletter). However, it gives him a brilliant idea for revenge on Burnbridge Waters. He goes on the program dressed as an encyclopedia, prepared to answer any question. Starting from an initial $5 prize, Beauregard easily answers the maximum five questions. The show runs out of time, but Beauregard promises to come back the next week if people will write in to Milady Soap demanding he be allowed to return.
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Wikipedia