THE BOOTLEGGER is the story of Henry "Kelly" Wagle, a hometown gangster turned folk hero in the town of Colchester, Illinois (population 1,493).

THE BOOTLEGGER is the story of Henry "Kelly" Wagle, a hometown gangster turned folk hero in the town of Colchester, Illinois (population 1,493). It is a nonfiction feature film, based on the 1998 book by John E. Hallwas, which was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction and the National Book Award for Nonfiction. Although he died in 1929, Wagle remains controversial in Colchester, where alcohol is still illegal to sell. He is legendary for his good deeds and slick driving, but he is also notorious for his violent temper and dark secrets. To this day, Wagle is the central figure in not one but two unsolved murder cases. Visually rich and tightly paced with no narrator, no reenactments, and no period music (except one song), THE BOOTLEGGER is a one-of-a-kind historical crime thriller.—Ryan Geoffrey Walker