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Poster for The Spook Who Sat by the Door

The Spook Who Sat by the Door

Their first mistake was letting him in. Their biggest mistake was letting him out!

1973 · 1h 42m · PG Action, Crime, Drama
Directed by Ivan Dixon

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Overview

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

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
67%
Tomatometer
Rotten

It is such a mixture of passion, humor, hindsight, prophecy, prejudice and reaction that the fact that it's not a very well-made movie, and is seldom convincing as melodrama, is almost beside the point.

Vincent Canby, New York Times
Fresh

Possibly the most radical of the blaxploitation films of the 70s, this movie was an overnight success when released in 1973, then was abruptly taken out of distribution for reasons still not entirely clear.

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

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