Morton Downey Jr. was a chain-smoking showman, extremist, and master of provocation with the smile of a movie star and the mouth of a sailor. He was a son of a crooner and a sonofabitch whose friends in high places did not make him nearly as famous as his friends in low. Evocateur pays tribute to Downey Jr.'s legacy by showing that, while his act may have been all fistfights and F-bombs, there were deeper layers to both Mort and his show. He had a calculated plan for a new entertainment, and his politics—whether staunch beliefs or make-believe—were the driving vehicle.

Providing just the right balance of behind-the-scenes access, historical context, archival footage from Mort's glory days, and interviews with those whose path he crossed (either directly or indirectly), Evocateur remains admirably objective and stays on course to deliver an inside look into the polarizing man who people loved and loved to hate… allowing Mort to entertain us one more time, for better or worse.

Directed by

Jeremy Newberger, Jeremy Newberger, Seth Kramer, and Daniel Miller