The Spook Who Sat by the Door

Admission is free. No advance reservations. Your seat will be assigned to you when you pick up your ticket at the box office. Seats are assigned on a first come, first served basis. The box office opens one hour before the event.

The Spook Who Sat by the Door

U.S., 1973

New 35mm restoration!

The parallels between the story told in The Spook Who Sat by the Door and the film’s production are striking and powerful. Based on the explosive 1969 novel by Sam Greenlee, who co-wrote the screenplay, director Ivan Dixon’s pull-no-punches adaptation follows the CIA’s first Black agent (Lawrence Cook) — recruited as part of a Potemkin integration policy — from the halls of power to the streets of Chicago where he uses the agency’s own training to foment a violent Black revolution. For his part, Dixon shot the film guerrilla-style, deploying the action tropes of Blaxploitation to revolutionary ends, using their camera as a weapon in the ongoing cultural war of self-representation. The Archive is honored to present the world premiere screening of a new 35mm restoration of this underground classic.  

35mm, color, 102 min. Director: Ivan Dixon. Screenwriters: Sam Greenlee, Melvin Clay. With: Lawrence Cook, Janet League, Paula Kelly. 

Restored by The Library of Congress and The Film Foundation. Funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation.