SYNOPSIS:

A charlatan doctor rises to power by peddling a radical remedy in the days before medical regulation in the U.S. Man of the People explores the U.S. love affair with charlatans and their existence in the space between symptom and cause of public folly.

Man of the People is inspired by the true story of John Brinkley, an American “doctor” that grew to notoriety for selling a cure for male impotence in the 1920s. Bolstered to fame through radio, Brinkley earned the adoration of many but made an enemy of Chicago’s Dr. Morris Fishbein, editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association who sought to hold him accountable for his quackery. Despite numerous attempts to thwart him, Brinkley wriggled away from consequence, creating his own reality, and announcing his political candidacy before the final showdown with Fishbein.

Directed by Anna Bahow

Featuring Michael Peters, Joan Nahid, Shawn Smith, Robert Koon, Andrew Bosworth, Sandy Spatz