AllMovie

Originally aired in 1993 on PBS, The Secret File on J. Edgar Hoover uncovers startling information about this former FBI director's covert life. The documentary presents a picture quite different from Hoover's public image and raises some provocative questions. Did the mob blackmail Hoover with evidence that he was a homosexual? Is this why they were allowed to operate without challenge for more than 20 years? Did Hoover pressure Kennedy to run with Johnson? Interviews with those who were there probe these issues and others in this compelling look at the secret life of J. Edgar Hoover, a man who -- for more than 50 years -- used his position to control America's politicians.