| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
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Lawrence Cook | ... |
Dan Freeman
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Janet League | ... |
Joy
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| Paula Kelly | ... |
Dahomey Queen
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| J.A. Preston | ... |
Dawson
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Paul Butler | ... |
Do-Daddy Dean
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Don Blakely | ... |
Stud Davis
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David Lemieux | ... |
Pretty Willie
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| Byron Morrow | ... |
General
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Jack Aaron | ... |
Carstairs
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| Joseph Mascolo | ... |
Senator Hennington
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| 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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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
I can't remember how this ended up on my Netflix (I must have read about it in a book or magazine), but I was incredibly surprised. In my mind this rivals "Do the Right Thing"--without the polish. I've seen numerous "blaxploitation" films (not my favorite term), but this 1) doesn't pull any punches and 2) doesn't degenerate into demeaning sex and violence. Unlike films like "Shaft" that just made a white hero black, "The Spook Who Sat by the Door" probably gave the establishment a severe case of heartburn--I mean, can you consider this with white characters?! No. It's a black film through and through. The establishment can tolerate a "Superfly" or a "Shaft," but a film like this (more akin to "The Battle of Algiers") is borderline dangerous. I used to teach a film class, and if I still did, I may very well have considered showing this. An important film.