A black man plays Uncle Tom in order to gain access to CIA training, then uses that knowledge to plot a new American Revolution.
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Take a look back at the talented actors and actresses who took home a Golden Globe for Best Actor/Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama since the category was created in 1951.
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Title: The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973)
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1 win & 2 nominations.
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
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Lawrence Cook | ... | Dan Freeman |
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Janet League | ... | Joy |
| Paula Kelly | ... | Dahomey Queen | |
| J.A. Preston | ... | Dawson | |
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Paul Butler | ... | Do-Daddy Dean |
| Don Blakely | ... | Stud Davis | |
| David Lemieux | ... | Pretty Willie | |
| Byron Morrow | ... | General | |
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Jack Aaron | ... | Carstairs |
| Joseph Mascolo | ... | Senator Hennington | |
| Elaine Aiken | ... | Mrs. Hennington | |
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Beverly Gill | ... | Willa |
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Bob Hill | ... | Calhoun |
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Martin Golar | ... | Perkins |
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Jeff Hamilton | ... | Policeman |
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
In order to improve his standing with Black voters, a White Senator starts a campaign for the CIA to recruit Black agents. However, all are graded on a curve and doomed to fail, save for a soft-spoken veteran named Dan Freeman. After grueling training in guerrilla warfare, clandestine operations and unarmed combat, he is assigned a meager job as the CIA's token Black employee. After five years of racist and stereotyped treatment by his superiors, he quietly resigns to return to his native Chicago to work for a social services agency...by day. By night, he trains a street gang to be the vanguard in an upcoming race war, using all that the CIA has taught him... Written by Baroque
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Their first mistake was letting him in. Their biggest mistake was letting him out! See more »Parents Guide:
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Stud Davis: Cause it's WAR, Honky!
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Did You Know?
Trivia
The actor who played Pretty Willie (David Lemieux) was a member of the Black Panthers and later became a Chicago police detective. See more »Quotes
National Guard Soldier: [after being shot] Why me?Stud Davis: Cause it's WAR, Honky!
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Connections
Referenced in 42nd Street Memories: The Rise and Fall of America's Most Notorious Street (2015) See more »
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
23 December 1981 (France) See more »Also Known As:
The Spook Who Sat by the Door See more »Edit
Box Office
Gross USA:
$998,351Company Credits
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IMDbPro »
I viewed this film in a Pan African Studies class at California State University, Northridge in 1993. Professor James Dennis who was a Civil Rights activist who made the Mississippi Freedom Rides told us this was the best film about and by African-Americans, and I agree with him wholeheartedly! I would like to get this video and show it in the classes I teach in history. This film was ahead of its time. Sam Greenelee is a very good writer and captures the essence of the struggle for African-Americans.