Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "mccarthyism"

1. Fellow Travelers (2023)

TV-MA | 59 min | Drama, Romance

Follows the lives and volatile romance of two different men, through purges, wars, protests, and plagues, overcoming obstacles in the world.

Stars: Matt Bomer, Jonathan Bailey, Jelani Alladin, Linus Roache

Votes: 10,753

2. The Way We Were (1973)

PG | 118 min | Drama, Romance

During post-WWII McCarthyism, a diametrically opposed couple come together only to find out that genuine friendship and physical attraction is not enough to overcome fundamental societal beliefs.

Director: Sydney Pollack | Stars: Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford, Bradford Dillman, Lois Chiles

Votes: 27,499

3. Chaplin (1992)

PG-13 | 143 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama

An elderly Charlie Chaplin discusses his autobiography with his editor, recounting his amazing journey from his poverty-stricken childhood to world-wide success after the ingenious invention of the Little Tramp.

Director: Richard Attenborough | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Geraldine Chaplin, Paul Rhys, John Thaw

Votes: 62,264 | Gross: $9.49M

4. Julie & Julia (2009)

PG-13 | 123 min | Biography, Drama, Romance

Julia Child's story of her start in the cooking profession is intertwined with blogger Julie Powell's 2002 challenge to cook all the recipes in Child's first book.

Director: Nora Ephron | Stars: Amy Adams, Meryl Streep, Chris Messina, Stanley Tucci

Votes: 128,943 | Gross: $94.13M

5. The Majestic (2001)

PG | 152 min | Drama, Romance

In 1951, a blacklisted Hollywood writer gets into a car accident, loses his memory and settles down in a small town where he is mistaken for a long-lost son.

Director: Frank Darabont | Stars: Jim Carrey, Martin Landau, Bob Balaban, Jeffrey DeMunn

Votes: 57,692 | Gross: $27.81M

6. Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)

PG | 93 min | Biography, Drama, History

Broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow looks to bring down Senator Joseph McCarthy.

Director: George Clooney | Stars: David Strathairn, George Clooney, Patricia Clarkson, Jeff Daniels

Votes: 101,327 | Gross: $31.56M

7. Trumbo (2015)

R | 124 min | Biography, Drama

In 1947, Dalton Trumbo was Hollywood's top screenwriter, until he and other artists were jailed and blacklisted for their political beliefs.

Director: Jay Roach | Stars: Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane, Helen Mirren, Louis C.K.

Votes: 84,808 | Gross: $7.86M

8. Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

Approved | 96 min | Drama, Film-Noir

Powerful but unethical Broadway columnist J.J. Hunsecker coerces unscrupulous press agent Sidney Falco into breaking up his sister's romance with a jazz musician.

Director: Alexander Mackendrick | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison, Martin Milner

Votes: 35,732

9. The Contender (2000)

R | 126 min | Drama, Thriller

Senator Laine Hanson is a contender for U.S. Vice President, but information and disinformation about her past surfaces that threatens to derail her confirmation.

Director: Rod Lurie | Stars: Joan Allen, Gary Oldman, Jeff Bridges, Christian Slater

Votes: 25,033 | Gross: $17.87M

10. McCarthy (II)

Biography, Drama, History | Pre-production

A personal look at the influential former politician who rose to fame as a driving force behind anti-communist and anti-homosexual U.S. political sentiment during the Cold War.

Director: Václav Marhoul | Stars: Emilia Clarke, Michael Shannon, Dane DeHaan, Scoot McNairy

11. Guilty by Suspicion (1991)

PG-13 | 105 min | Drama

Returning to Hollywood 1951 after working in France, a movie director meets McCarthyism head-on.

Director: Irwin Winkler | Stars: Robert De Niro, Annette Bening, George Wendt, Patricia Wettig

Votes: 9,579 | Gross: $9.48M

12. Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff (1979)

R | 105 min | Drama

An abusive sexual relationship between a white spinster schoolteacher and a young black janitor in 1956 Kansas complicates her struggle to come to grips with her sexuality and emotions.

Director: Marvin J. Chomsky | Stars: Anne Heywood, Donald Pleasence, Robert Vaughn, Earl Holliman

Votes: 457

13. The Josephine Baker Story (1991 TV Movie)

R | 130 min | Biography, Drama, History

Born poor in St. Louis, Missouri, Josephine Baker achieved fame and fortune through her sizzlingly exotic, erotic performances. Starting life on the American Vaudeville circuit, success ... See full summary »

Director: Brian Gibson | Stars: Lynn Whitfield, Rubén Blades, David Dukes, Louis Gossett Jr.

Votes: 1,591

14. The Front (1976)

PG | 95 min | Drama

In 1953, a cashier poses as a writer for blacklisted talents to submit their work through, but the injustice around him pushes him to take a stand.

Director: Martin Ritt | Stars: Woody Allen, Zero Mostel, Herschel Bernardi, Michael Murphy

Votes: 9,679

15. Insignificance (1985)

R | 109 min | Comedy

Four 1950s icons meet in the same hotel room and two of them discover more in common between them than they ever anticipated.

Director: Nicolas Roeg | Stars: Gary Busey, Tony Curtis, Theresa Russell, Michael Emil

Votes: 3,889

16. Possessed (2000 TV Movie)

Not Rated | 110 min | Horror, Drama

Inspired by the true account of a 1949 Catholic Church exorcism performed in America. "Possessed", tells the story that was suppressed for nearly half a century.

Director: Steven E. de Souza | Stars: Timothy Dalton, Henry Czerny, Jonathan Malen, Michael Rhoades

Votes: 1,664

17. That's What I Am (2011)

PG | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

In 1965, 13 y.o. paperboy Andy's paired up with a geek on a project in the popular junior high teacher's class. Andy learns and grows from it.

Director: Michael Pavone | Stars: Ed Harris, Chase Ellison, Molly Parker, Daniel Roebuck

Votes: 10,964

18. The Real Charlie Chaplin (2021)

114 min | Documentary, Biography

A look at the life and work of Charlie Chaplin in his own words featuring an in-depth interview he gave to Life magazine in 1966.

Directors: Peter Middleton, James Spinney | Stars: Pearl Mackie, Jeff Rawle, Paul Ryan, Matthew Wolf

Votes: 1,796

19. Storm Center (1956)

Approved | 85 min | Drama

During the 1950s, a small-town librarian is shunned by the locals after she refuses the City Council's request to remove a book on Communism from the library's shelves.

Director: Daniel Taradash | Stars: Bette Davis, Brian Keith, Kim Hunter, Paul Kelly

Votes: 1,654

20. The House on Carroll Street (1988)

PG | 101 min | Thriller

In 1950s America, an FBI agent and a blacklist victim uncover a plot to smuggle Nazi war criminals into the country.

Director: Peter Yates | Stars: Kelly McGillis, Jeff Daniels, Mandy Patinkin, Jessica Tandy

Votes: 2,803 | Gross: $0.46M

21. The Atomic Cafe (1982)

Not Rated | 86 min | Documentary, History

Disturbing collection of 1940s and 1950s United States government-issued propaganda films designed to reassure Americans that the atomic bomb was not a threat to their safety.

Directors: Jayne Loader, Kevin Rafferty, Pierce Rafferty | Stars: Paul Tibbets, Harry S. Truman, W.H.P. Blandy, Brien McMahon

Votes: 4,538 | Gross: $0.02M

22. Big Jim McLain (1952)

Approved | 90 min | Crime, Drama, History

In the post-war Hawaii, House Un-American Activities Committee investigators Jim McLain and Mal Baxter hunt down Communists.

Director: Edward Ludwig | Stars: John Wayne, Nancy Olson, James Arness, Alan Napier

Votes: 2,361

23. Girls in Prison (1994 TV Movie)

R | 83 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

Framed for the murder of a record company president in 1952 Hollywood, young, aspiring singer Aggie O'Hanlon is sentenced to life in prison and tries to adjust to her life life behind bars ... See full summary »

Director: John McNaughton | Stars: Diane McGee, Harvey Chao, Bahni Turpin, Ralph Meyering Jr.

Votes: 690

24. Citizen Cohn (1992 TV Movie)

R | 111 min | Biography, Drama

As lawyer and power broker Roy Cohn lies dying of AIDS in a private hospital room, ghosts from his past visit him as he reflects on his life and loves.

Director: Frank Pierson | Stars: James Woods, Joe Don Baker, Joseph Bologna, Ed Flanders

Votes: 1,517

25. The Day After Trinity (1981)

Not Rated | 88 min | Documentary, Biography

Scientists and witnesses involved in the creation and testing of the first ever atomic bomb reflect on the Manhattan project and its fascinating leader, J. Robert Oppenheimer, who upon ... See full summary »

Director: Jon Else | Stars: Hans Bethe, Holm Bursom, Haakon Chevalier, Stirling Colgate

Votes: 1,235

26. Career (1959)

Not Rated | 105 min | Drama

More than anything in the world, Sam Lawson wants to be a successful actor. Is he willing to sacrifice his wife, happiness and personal reputation to achieve his goal?

Director: Joseph Anthony | Stars: Dean Martin, Anthony Franciosa, Shirley MacLaine, Carolyn Jones

Votes: 708

27. Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn (2019)

TV-MA | 94 min | Documentary

A look at the life and work of New York power broker Roy Cohn.

Director: Ivy Meeropol | Stars: Cindy Adams, Joey Adams, Peter L. Allen, Noreen Bahring

Votes: 932

28. Maidstone (1970)

110 min | Drama

Norman T. Kingsley, famous movie director, runs for President.

Director: Norman Mailer | Stars: Norman Mailer, Rip Torn, Paul Austin, Joy Bang

Votes: 281

29. The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer (2010)

109 min | Documentary, Biography, History

Profile of Robert Oppenheimer, controversial father of the atomic bomb.

Director: David Grubin | Stars: Marvin L. Goldberger, Priscilla McMillan, Richard Rhodes, Martin Sherwin

Votes: 225

30. Before Stonewall (1984)

Unrated | 87 min | Documentary, History

The history of the Gay and Lesbian community before the Stonewall riots began the major gay rights movement.

Directors: Greta Schiller, Robert Rosenberg | Stars: Rita Mae Brown, Bruce Nugent, Henry Otis, Donna Smith

Votes: 1,190 | Gross: $0.02M

31. Fraternity Row (1977)

PG | 100 min | Drama

Story of an upper class college in the early '50s and how a "harmless" hazing resulted in a student's death.

Director: Thomas J. Tobin | Stars: Angela Aber, Scott Brown, Colleen Casey, Cher Chelton

Votes: 224

32. Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story (1972 TV Movie)

25 min | Comedy

This mockumentary follows the fictional career of Harvey Wallinger, ostensible chief aide and adviser to Richard Nixon, from Nixon's time as Eisenhower's vice-president through his loss in ... See full summary »

Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Woody Allen, David Ackroyd, Wil Albert, Conrad Bain

Votes: 631

33. Trumbo (2007)

PG-13 | 96 min | Documentary, Biography

Through a focus on the life of Dalton Trumbo (1905-1976), this film examines the effects on individuals and families of a congressional pursuit of Hollywood Communists after World War II. ... See full summary »

Director: Peter Askin | Stars: Dalton Trumbo, Joan Allen, Brian Dennehy, Michael Douglas

Votes: 1,246 | Gross: $7.85M

34. Prisoner of War (1954)

Approved | 81 min | Drama, War

During the Korean War, an American officer is tasked with infiltrating a Communist-run POW camp in order to investigate the treatment of American prisoners by the enemy.

Director: Andrew Marton | Stars: Ronald Reagan, Steve Forrest, Dewey Martin, Oscar Homolka

Votes: 288

35. Elia Kazan: An Outsider (1982)

56 min | Documentary

In a series of conversations with Michel Ciment, Elia Kazan talks about his life's work in theatre, cinema and novels, the philosophy and attitudes behind his choices and his creations.

Director: Annie Tresgot | Stars: Michel Ciment, Elia Kazan, Robert De Niro, Mike Kazan

Votes: 113

36. Kennedy, Sinatra and the Mafia (2023 TV Movie)

Documentary, Crime, History

With his mafia wiseguy links and access to entertainment industry star power, Frank Sinatra helped John F. Kennedy into the White House in 1960. But it all came to a bitter end.

Director: David Harvey | Stars: Chuck Granata, Lenny Luizzi, Robert Foster, Robbyn Swan

Votes: 58

37. Where I Stand: The Hank Greenspun Story (2008)

98 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime

Convicted gun runner, Las Vegas visionary, crusading newspaper publisher, target of the Watergate burglars, hero of Israel's War of Independence, these are only some the highlights of Hank ... See full summary »

Director: Scott Goldstein | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, John Ehrlichman, Barbara Greenspun, Brian Greenspun

Votes: 154

38. Dark Mind (2006)

81 min | Drama, Thriller

An inventor (Masterson) must protect his inventions from becoming casualties of the Cold War.

Director: Nicholas Peterson | Stars: Christopher Masterson, Lyndsy Fonseca, David DeLuise, Richard Riehle

Votes: 207

39. Outrage (I) (2009)

R | 90 min | Documentary

An indictment of closeted politicians who lobby for anti-gay legislation in the U.S.

Director: Kirby Dick | Stars: Barney Frank, James McGreevey, Kevin Naff, Dan Popkey

Votes: 1,754 | Gross: $0.04M

40. Tail Gunner Joe (1977 TV Movie)

Not Rated | 145 min | Biography, Drama, History

A dramatization of the life of Joe McCarthy, the alcoholic senator from Wisconsin whose tactics of accusing prominent people of Communist sympathies were initially designed to give him a ... See full summary »

Director: Jud Taylor | Stars: Peter Boyle, John Forsythe, Heather Menzies-Urich, Burgess Meredith

Votes: 199

41. Arguing the World (1997)

Not Rated | 106 min | Documentary

A true story of four Jewish intellectuals born in New York and educated at City College during the 1930s, and their divergent paths over the next six decades.

Director: Joseph Dorman | Stars: Daniel Bell, Nathan Glazer, Irving Howe, Irving Kristol

Votes: 97 | Gross: $0.05M

42. Coded (2021)

TV-14 | 29 min | Documentary, Animation, Short

Follows the illustrator J.C. Leyendecker, whose legacy laid the foundation for today's out-and-proud LGBTQ advertisements.

Director: Ryan White | Stars: Judy Goffman Cutler, Jennifer A. Greenhill, Neil Patrick Harris, Jari Jones

Votes: 303

43. Murrow (1986 TV Movie)

Not Rated | 114 min | Biography, Drama

Follow legendary news reporter/commentator from his radio broadcasts from the rooftops of London during the Blitz to his TV documentary series "See It Now" and his confrontations with the ... See full summary »

Director: Jack Gold | Stars: Daniel J. Travanti, Stephen Churchett, David Suchet, Robert Vaughn

Votes: 141

44. Hollywood on Trial (1976)

Not Rated | 105 min | Documentary

The documentary analyzes a dark period in Hollywood's history due to the Red Scare of the 1940's and 1950's, when actors, writers and directors were persecuted and investigated by the House... See full summary »

Director: David Helpern | Stars: Walter Bernstein, Alvah Bessie, Lester Cole, Howard Da Silva

Votes: 254

45. Our Nixon (2013)

Not Rated | 84 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime

Never before seen Super 8 home movies filmed by Richard Nixon's closest aides - and convicted Watergate conspirators - offer a surprising and intimate new look into his Presidency.

Director: Penny Lane | Stars: Richard Nixon, H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, Dwight Chapin

Votes: 662 | Gross: $0.02M

46. Point of Order! (1964)

Not Rated | 97 min | Documentary

An unfiltered, unflinching document of the notorious 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings, compiled entirely from raw TV footage (with no narration, music, or added scenes).

Director: Emile de Antonio | Stars: John G. Adams, Roy M. Cohn, Ray Jenkins, Joseph McCarthy

Votes: 516

47. Rabbit in the Moon (1999)

85 min | Documentary, Biography, History

This documentary is about the internment of Japanese Americans in camps during World War II.

Director: Emiko Omori | Stars: Emiko Omori, Chizuko Omori, Frank Emi, Aiko Yoshinaga-Herzig

Votes: 128

48. Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel (2009)

R | 124 min | Documentary, Biography

A look at the battles Hugh Hefner fought over the years against the U.S. government, the religious right, and militant feminists.

Director: Brigitte Berman | Stars: Larry Adler, Bobbie Arnstein, Joan Baez, Count Basie

Votes: 752 | Gross: $0.02M

49. Class Dismissed: How TV Frames the Working Class (2005 Video)

62 min | Documentary

Based on the forthcoming book by Pepi Leistyna, Class Dismissed navigates the steady stream of narrow working class representations from American television's beginnings to today's sitcoms,... See full summary »

Director: Loretta Alper | Stars: Stanley Aronowitz, Edward Asner, Roseanne Barr, George W. Bush

Votes: 70

50. The Hangman (1964)

12 min | Animation, Short, Horror

A town is doomed to endless torment by the Hangman, who continues to kill off the town one by one. As more die, the town becomes more and more in disarray as the gallow grew each day.

Directors: Les Goldman, Paul Julian | Star: Herschel Bernardi

Votes: 220