The Real American: Joe McCarthy

Examining the rise and fall of the man behind McCarthyism, a term now synonymous with political 'witch-hunts'. Senator Joseph R. McCarthy dominated 1950s US politics with his televised hunt for Communists and battles with key institutions including the Army and even the President himself. This portrait of one of the early ‘bad guys’ of televised politics is based on five years of extensive research through international archives. Mixing original footage with previously unseen archive imagery and unique insights from leading observers, it examines the political and cultural landscape that facilitated McCarthy’s meteoric rise to power.