Cold Turkey

Cold Turkey is a 1971 American comedy about a small Iowa town that accepts an unusual challenge. A tobacco company, hoping for favorable publicity, offers twenty-five million dollars to any American town whose residents can give up smoking for thirty days. Eagle Rock takes up the contest, with Reverend Clayton Brooks leading the effort, while the company's public relations man works behind the scenes to sabotage the town's chances. The strain of quitting tests the townspeople, and the film follows whether they can hold out and collect the prize.

Norman Lear directed, wrote and produced the film, which came after his earlier work as a writer and director and before the television productions with which he became closely associated. Dick Van Dyke plays Reverend Brooks, with Pippa Scott as his wife Natalie, Tom Poston, Edward Everett Horton, Bob Elliott and Vincent Gardenia among the main cast; forty-seven performers are credited in all. Made by DFI and Tandem Productions, the film runs ninety-nine minutes and took in around eleven million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds a 6.6 rating from roughly 2,800 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.3 from about thirty votes, indicating a modest but enduring reputation among viewers.