J Edgar Hoover – Le Plus Grand Ripou D

The story of the late J. Edgar Hoover, who was head of the FBI from 1924-1972. The film follows Hoover from his racket-busting days through his reign under eight U.S. presidents.

He battled the Kennedys and Martin Luther King, encouraged McCarthy and single-handedly changed the course of history. Hired by F.D.R. to be the director of the FBI, Hoover erected the most sophisticated investigatory agency in the world.

For nearly 50 years, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover amassed secret files on America's most prominent figures, files he used to smear and control presidents and politicians. Frontline reveals how Hoover's own secret life left him open to blackmail by the Mafia and offers a startling new explanation why the FBI allowed the mob to operate unchallenged for over two decades. The American Mafia, it is asserted, had damaging evidence about Hoover's sex life and they knew about his homosexuality.

A sizzling look at the one, the only, J. Edgar Hoover-a man whose very name conjures up images of top level law enforcement and respect. Having served tirelessly as director of the FBI for more than 40 years, J. Edgar's life was chock-full of secret investigations that were as much responsible for preserving freedom and stamping out Communism as any U.S. President that ever served.

As the face of law enforcement in the United States for almost 50 years, J. Edgar Hoover was feared and admired, reviled and revered. But behind closed doors, he held secrets that would have destroyed his image, his career, and his life.

Based on the bestselling novel by Marc Dugain, this original docudrama weaves unique archival footage within a fictional story and sheds a new light on J. Edgar Hoover. This film reveals the FBI director's battle to retain power from the Kennedy clan. From 1960 and 1963, two ideals of America come face to face and two sets of morals clash. Clyde Tolson, Hoover's right-hand man and secret lover, is the last survivor of this psychological drama. He recounts this intense political period when America's destiny has never been as dependent on one of the most powerful and mysterious figures of the time.