Sidney Poitier

Rod Steiger

Warren Oates

Peter Whitney

Lee Grant

Anthony James

William Schallert

Scott Wilson

Larry Gates

James Patterson

Quentin Dean

Kermit Murdock

Larry D. Mann

Matt Clark

Beah Richards

Arthur Malet

Fred Stewart

Timothy Scott

William Watson

Eldon Quick

Jester Hairston

Stuart Nisbet

Khalil Bezaleel

Peter Masterson

Phil Adams

Nikita Knatz

Sam Reese

Jack Teter

Alan Oppenheimer

Clegg Hoyt

Buzz Barton

Walter Mirisch

John Ball

Hal Ashby

Haskell Wexler

Stirling Silliphant

Norman Jewison

Quincy Jones

Lynn Stalmaster

Alan Levine

Del Armstrong

Robert Priestley

Paul Groesse

Jim Henderling

Clem Portman

Howard Joslin

Kevin F. Cleary

Joseph Musso

Allen K. Wood

Morris Rosen

Ross A. Maehl

Charles Cooper

John Moio

Byron 'Buzz' Brandt

Meta Rebner

Walter Goss

Don Stott

Richard Carruth

Ralph Gerling

Alan Bergman

Marilyn Bergman

Wayne Fitzgerald

Stephen R. Ferry

Ray Charles

Newt Arnold

Terry Morse Jr.

James A. Richards

Murray Naidich

Virgil Tibbs Trilogy

Crime

Drama

Mystery

Thriller

In the Heat of the Night

United Artists

The Mirisch Company

United States of America

English

small town

southern usa

black people

police chief

stolen money

racial segregation

racist

murder

youth gang

racism

whodunit

poverty

false accusations

police station

racial tension

bigotry

autopsy room

red herring

railroad station

white supremacists

nymphette

bigot

deep south

cotton plantation

southern small town

rumble

illegal abortionist

petty thief

jumping to conclusions

preserved film

I have a love/hate thing for how this ended.  It looked good but it was too dark... visually.  I think they were going for a source lighting thing and failed a bit.  It was realistically dark but not Hollywood viewer in mind dark.

Anyway the bad is out of the way, the good is the performance, it was really Oscar worthy in the truest sense, and the evolution of both the lead character and the supporting cast right down to the town around him was legendary.  Subtle, but legendary.

It even had a sense of humor, little jokes in it that were probably added to break the tension, but added in a way that you have to look for them so it doesn't break.

Start to finish it is brilliant.

CinemaSerf

Warren Oates ("Wood") steps from his patrol car in the quiet town of Sparta and discovers the body of "Colbert" - a controversial local employer. Shortly afterwards he discovers "TIbbs" (Sidney Poitier) sitting waiting for the 4.05 train. He is black and there is a wealthy white murder victim on the street - ergo, two and two... Next thing, though, the police chief "Gillespie" (Rod Steiger) is interrogating their visitor and discovers that he is an accomplished homicide detective. Initially inclined to just send him on his way, "Gillespie" decides - with a bit of persuasion from the widow (Lee Grant) that it might make sense for "Tibbs" to do some of the investigating himself. Backs up, heckles raised, the white supremacists are outraged and astonished in equal measure as the police allow him to follow his nose and to uncover some rather nasty little home truths about their community and the people who dwell within. On the face of it, it's about racial prejudice and perhaps, offers a rather simplistic get out solution. Or, maybe, it demonstrates that the best cure for ignorance is exposure to that which we loathe or don't understand and let behaviours and experience alter these views? There is room for both perspectives as we evaluate the police attitudes to this clever and slightly arrogant man who clearly considers himself to be as superior to them as they to him. Fifty-five years on, it's hard to appreciate just how profound this kind cinema was in alerting the US population to the bigotries in their own backyard, and Poitier always was a poised and measured actor when it came to making a point without shoving it down your throat! Steiger is also on good form here. He underplays his role, his character has flaws - sure - but as we progress there appears to be a willingness to mature and his performance manages that well. Small town life, small town mentality - with a racist, xenophobic, tinge. Well worth a watch.

"I'm A Police Officer"

Train Station Scene

Autopsy Scene

TCM Big Screen Classics 55th Anniversary Spot

Mr. Tibbs Slaps Endicott

Official Trailer

Laurence Fishburne on IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT

In the Heat of the Night (1967) Discussion with Lee Grant, Walter Mirisch and Norman Jewison

Rod Steiger winning an Oscar®  for Best Actor

In the Heat of the Night( 1967)

They got a murder on their hands. They don’t know what to do with it.

Overview

Top Billed Cast

Social

A review by GenerationofSwine

Written by GenerationofSwine on Wed Jan 11 2023

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