The Perils of a Life of Dirty Tricks in the CIA (1978)

A documentary that provides an in-depth look at the life and work of John "Bob" Stockwell, a former CIA officer. Stockwell, the son of Protestant missionaries, served as a Marine Corps officer and corporate manager before joining the CIA. The film focuses on Stockwell's involvement in planning and executing a covert operation to overthrow the newly-installed MPLA government in Angola in 1975. Through a combination of interviews and archival footage, the documentary showcases Stockwell's interactions with his agents, including Jonas Savimbi of UNITA, and provides a rare glimpse of the Cuban army's presence in Angola. The film also reveals the CIA's surveillance activities on a U.S. Senator investigating the agency's role in Africa. Stockwell's interviews highlight his growing disillusionment with the CIA and his subsequent decision to become a whistleblower, exposing the agency's corrupt and immoral activities.