The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973)

Director:

Ivan Dixon

Writers:

Melvin Clay (writer)
Sam Greenlee (novel)

Release Date:

23 December 1981 (France)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Crime

Tagline:

The controversial best selling novel now becomes a shocking screen reality.

Plot:

A black man plays Uncle Tom in order to gain access to CIA training, then uses that knowledge to plot a new American Revolution.

Plot Keywords:

CIA | Revolution | Race War | Racism | Black Power

Cast

Lawrence Cook	...	Dan Freeman
Janet League	...	Joy
Paula Kelly	...	Dahomey Queen
J.A. Preston	...	Dawson
Paul Butler	...	Do-Daddy Dean
Don Blakely	...	Stud Davis
David Lemieux	...	Pretty Willie
Byron Morrow	...	General
Jack Aaron	...	Carstairs
Joseph Mascolo	...	Senator Hennington
Elaine Aiken	...	Mrs. Hennington
Beverly Gill	...	Willa
Bob Hill	...	Calhoun
Martin Golar	...	Perkins
Jeff Hamilton	...	Policeman

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Norway:16 (1974) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

63rd Street & Cottage Grove Avenue, Woodlawn, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Bokan

Trivia:

(David Lemieux), who played "Pretty Willie", was a member of the Black Panthers and later became a Chicago police detective.

Quotes:

Dan Freeman: [confronting members of the Cobras street gang] Shut up... and listen! The big-time, bad-ass Cobras. Pumpin' away at the Pigs from the rooftops during the riots last summer? Oh, yeah! I know what ya's into. With .22 rifles and pistols did about as much damage as a mosquito to a elephant's ass! What did you expect to hit from that range, with those weapons at night? You might as well as *thrown* the damned pieces at the Pigs! You *really* wanna mess with Whitey? I can show you how. *I* can show you how!

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Gone with the Wind (1939)

A big surprise!

A big surprise! I wasn't expecting anything as intelligent or exciting as this. More craft than one would expect of a low budget outing from largely first timers and it barely puts a foot wrong. None of the glam of the more obvious candidates for best black film, this just gets on and does it's job. This being the film's theme in many ways - just do it! There are many, like the writer on the DVD interview, who wonder why so little has been achieved in the US by this community and this marvellous movie is certainly food for thought for many around the world whether they be the oppressed or the oppressor who cannot figure out how the balance of power never seems to change. A really must see film.