“The Spook Who Sat by the Door” (1973) is a faithful film adaptation of Sam Greenelee’s 1969 novel about the first Black 007 but instead of serving Queen and country, he is a double agent: an Uncle Tom in the day and a radical Black liberationist in the shadows. After accusations of hiring bias during an election season, the CIA looks for their first Black CIA agent, and Dan Freeman (Lawrence Cook) is the last man standing after a grueling vetting process, which does not reveal his former Chicago gang affiliation and collegiate leftist agenda. After five years of service hobnobbing with officials and making photocopies in a remote room, Freeman returns to Chicago to put his secret mission into action by training Black young people to prepare for guerilla warfare to fight for freedom from oppression. Will he be exposed to his former employer?
While Freeman is compared to 007, he has more in common with Batman by having an acceptable daytime persona and a womanizer image at night to cover his vigilantism. His main characteristic is being invisible—paging Ralph Ellison. In the opening credits scene, around forty Black men get tested physically and mentally. Even after repeat viewings, he does not stand out until he distinguishes himself and rises in the ranks, which was an effective way to convey his skills before introducing him as the protagonist. Look for the man in the tan suit, which may explain why everyone went crazy when a certain US president wore one while in office. Like Clark Kent, Freeman wears glasses to appear more harmless. His act is so convincing that he inspires disgust among other Black men by appearing more servile until he is ready to throw hands. Through gritted teeth, he declares to one adversary, “You don’t want to step outside with me because, baby, I would kick your ass.”
Freeman has a harder time maintaining his cover with the women in his life whether it is with a sex worker who resembles the Queen of Dahomey (Paula Kelly) or his college sweetheart, Joy (Janet League), who marries someone more suitable. Joy does not let that stop her from having a good time with Freeman. He cannot suppress his evangelistic enthusiasm for Black culture and causes, which converts the sex worker into a powerful ally and the only woman who comes close to reaching his level of willingness to act as a double agent for a cause and alarms Joy who was hoping that he finally grew out of his youthful zealotry. Most of the women in “The Spook Who Sat by the Door” are quiet, and there for eye candy, which is the main facet of the film that is like the old James Bond flicks. The gender depictions are dated and a little cringeworthy so just enjoy the colorful spectacle and stomach it if you can. This film continues the myth of the Civil Rights Movement as depicted in the media even in documentaries that heterosexual Black men were the leaders, and everyone else fell behind them whereas women and gay men played pivotal roles but were deliberately kept from standing in front of the camera. On the more fringe front, Assata Shakur would be the closest real-life Freeman if he was not a double agent, and she is still the first woman on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists since 2013.
Once in Chicago, Freeman expands his army of one to enlisting The Cobras, his former gang, to the cause. Initially they are resistant because of his reputation as a part of the establishment as a social worker. He tries to discourage people from using and selling drugs and encourage education with mixed results, but the gang soon follows his orders and accepts his tutelage. “The Spook Who Sat by the Door” loses momentum as the conspiracy unfolds. Once the main players are wearing ski masks, and the story focuses more on the actions unfolding in carrying out operations against the local government than the people behind those actions, it is harder to stay invested. Also, as a part of American visual vocabulary, the bad guys normally obscure their face so there is less sympathy for them as they are eliminated as an obstacle to the good guys. Good guys faces are usually shown so that they remain relatable and human.
The book apparently conveyed the idea that Freeman’s movement starts in Chicago before expanding its borders, but the film feels more restrictive in its locale. Most of the gang members are not individuated except for Willie (David Lemieux), a white passing gang member and college student who is seething with anger, which permits Freeman a chance to deliver a speech to reassure any moviegoers that his problem is not the color of the opposition’s skin but framing it as if they lived in a third world country and a foreign force invaded and harassed them. His goal is to stop being treated as foreigners in their native country in the hopes that the treatment will be restricted outside their borders. The narrative also bears the seed of realism because the CIA often trained people who would reverse the tables and use that education against them. There is not any real character development, just the vibe of a heist movie and the pleasure of seeing if Freeman can pull off his high wire act leveraging servitude and skin color as secret weapons in his arsenal.
While the opposition is ostensibly his former employer and their allies, “The Spook Who Sat by the Door” positions Dawson (J.A. Preston), a Chicago police officer and childhood friend as the main foil for Freeman. Freeman hopes to recruit him. When he finally pitches his idea to Dawson, it is the closest that Freeman comes to seemingly like an unhinged villain whereas before he fit the beats of a traditional action hero, which may be why many classified this film as a Blaxploitation film. While Greenlee and many others see Freeman as a hero, the film also embodies the night terror delusion that all Black people are double agents, violent terrorists waiting to get revenge and cannot be trusted that has existed since antebellum times. Was Greenlee concerned that he was playing into stereotypes? It appears that at the time of release, the predominant concern was that the movie would radicalize its targeted audience into abandoning the nonviolent resistance.
On a visual level, it is a product of its times, and the nighttime scenes can be inscrutable. The adoration of judo and other martial artist techniques are used in one scene where Freeman faces off against a biased higher-ranking officer who challenges him to a fight. Fight scenes were more awkward in those days, but also probably more realistic. Do not expect to be impressed with the physicality that made Freeman seem like the best fighter of them all.
Greenlee adapted “The Spook Who Sat by the Door” for the screen with Melvin “Mel” Clay. Clay only wrote two features, and this film was his last credit. Ivan Dixon, who was a former actor, directed it, and it was also his second and last feature film though he had a long and successful career directing television series such as “The Bionic Woman” (1978), “Wonder Woman” (1979) “The Greatest American Hero” (1981-1983) and “The A-Team” (1984). The film almost went extinct. Only bootleg copies of the film were available along with unauthorized and authorized streaming options.
If you are interested in watching a film that likely influenced films like “Black Panther” (2018) or “BlacKkKlansman” (2018) or just to see a film that was considered so radical, it was almost impossible to find, then you have two weeks to see it in New York. Thanks to funding from the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation, the Library of Congress and The Film Foundation restored the film, and starting on August 23, 2024 at 8 pm, it was shown in theaters for the third time since its initial three week run at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. You have until September 5, 2024 to see it before it is gone.
