In the Heat of the Night (1967)

He handles the racism and prejudice like a class act and paves the way for other African American actors.

This is possibly a very rare flawless mystery thriller. Everything goes well and the audience are attracted to it. It is also elevated by the stellar performances of Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger, and by the social satire theme about racism. Most of the white men in the town are prejudiced against black people. Yet in the end it is a negro who solves the murder case.

It is is the first of Virgil Tibbs series based on the role originated in this successful ¨In the heat of the night¨ , being marvelously served by powerful acting and taut filmmaking , and followed by two weak sequels . It won 5 Oscars , being excellently directed by Norman Jewison , it features great stars and secondaries as Rod Steiger , Warren Oates , Lee Grant , Lee Grant , Matt Clark , Larry Gates , James Patterson , Anthony James and William Schallert . Dealing with a wealthy industrial in a small Mississippi town , Sparta , is murdered , despite resentment on the part of the town's bigoted police chief (Steiger) he joins forces with an African-American cop . As Police Lieutenant Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) called in to investigate a strange murder case in a small Southern town . ¨In the heat of the night¨ has action , suspense , drama , thrills , violence and intriguing finale . This is a fundamentally simple whodunit woven together with tension , thriller and drama by Jewison . Here Tibbs finds has come to terms with his own prejudices as well as those of the people around him which adds another dimension to the movie . It is raised for above the norms thanks to an extremely charged sub-plot and top-notch acting . As a Big City Policeman comes up against bigotry , intolerance , dark secrets and a wall of prejudice when he attempts to help grumpy but canny Police Chief Cillespie . Intelligent screenplay by Sterling Silliphant with a provoking and underlying theme of racial prejudice is magnificently served . Atmospheric as well as evocative cinematography by Haskell Wexler and enjoyable music score by Quincy Jones in his usual style . The motion picture was compellingly directed by Norman Jewison . It scooped 5 Academy Awards , such as : Actor for Steiger , Screenplay , Film Edition , Sound and Picture . And won several British Academy and Golden Globes . Essential and fundamental watching . The trilogy starts with this excellent ¨In the heat of the night¨ (1967) , in which Poitier gives a memorable and unforgettable role , this was the best and the original , though , in the intervening years haven't dated it . The sequels pack the further adventures of the role Tibbs/Sidney Poitier who went on to reprise the character . The second installment is ¨They called me Mister Tibbs¨ (1970) being realized in Television style by Gordon Douglas , it stars Martin Landau , Barbara McNair , Anthony Zerbe , Edward Asner . And the third and final appearance , ¨The organization¨ (1971) , by Don Medford with Barbara McNair , Shree North , Raul Julia , Ron O'Neal , Allan Garfield and Daniel J Travanti , in which Tibbs/Sidney Poitier is out to break up a ring of dope .

First off, just to get it off my chest, every small town head law enforcement person is not a sheriff. I don't understand nor will I ever understand why so many people cannot make this very simple and straight forward distinction. Heck, even the television show based on the movie just HAD to put Stetsons on the Police because they figured, "Police and CHIEF have already been established, we HAVE to do SOMETHING to show they're actually all sheriffs!" Stupid, plain and simple. An easy concept for intelligent people to grasp, they are NOT all sheriffs.Whew. Sorry. It's always eaten at me and even though I know my tirade won't wake up the lethargic, I feel better venting....again.But enough of my bellyaching.This movie stands out as one of the all time classic films on a few levels. For one, it's and examination about race relations, not just in the south, but in general and how, even if you're not trying, you just might see that the bottom line is, we're all just people. There are good, there are bad, there are misunderstood and what color your skin happens to be, is totally irrelevant. Of course, all of the bad people in this happen to be white, but it's the circumstances under which the film takes. We see the transformation of some folks once they see Virgil Tibbs for who he is, not what he is. It's always good to watch when someone is enlightened, even a little.This movie is also a decent murder mystery. I grant you, not really the focus, but the compelling main plot IS the mystery of who the killer is and why he/she did it. The racial stuff is a dynamic sub-plot. Or is it the other way around? Hmmmm.It's also a very interesting character study. CHIEF Gillespie is shown to be clearly a complicated man who, though he wants to do the right thing, feels the need to prove himself even more so. He has a difficult time with being wrong or second guessed and yet, you see him occasionally second guessing himself and questioning his, or should I say the values of all around him.Tibbs is shown to be a good and righteous man who, as Gillespie points out, is deep down, "...just like the rest of us." in that he seems fixated on 'taking that fat cat off this hill.' Tibbs has convicted Endicott prior to even proving that Endicott actually did it. Just has Gillespie has done with others. The exchange outside of Endicott's house between Gillespie and Tibbs is priceless and the look on Tibbs' face when reality is thrown at him is extremely telling. And this exchange is one of the highlights of the film, and there are plenty others.The acting is outstanding. Each and every character is pretty much flawless, the weakest acting link (for me, anyway) was Quentin Dean as Delores. She didn't get LOTS of acting jobs after this, so I'm guessing I'm correct in my belief she was not great actress. It's unfortunate that she passed on at 58 years of age. She wasn't that bad. And of course, it's simply sad she passed at a relatively young age.But Rod Steiger and Sydney Poitier are two of the best, hands down. Warren Oates, never seemed to be acting, just actually being that person he was portraying, who always seemed to be like Warren Oates! The entire cast carries this without effort. I won't name them all, too many great performances to try.The dialogue is well written as well, VERY well written.Now for a little more nitpicking, sorry, it's in my blood. Though they may nor may not be spoilers, I feel better saying they are.First off, as much an expert as Tibbs is, it's amazing he knows everything about everything. Fern root? He knows all there is to know about Fern Root? Whew, there was a stroke of luck. No doubt fern root is a major factor in many of the cases he worked in Philadelphia! LMAO.I was amazed that the FBI could get the package, examine it and get it back to Mississippi within 24 hours, especially in 1967. REALLY? Why did Federal Express even need to be established? I'll close here. This movie is timeless, not 'dated'. It takes place when it takes place and when it takes place was a tough time for America for so many reasons, not that today is a walk in the park. But we see people for who they were then, and how some are now. Not all good people are white or black; nor are all bad people. (I'm not ignoring any other group, but this movie doesn't address any other groups, please hold off on any complaints about my lack of inclusiveness. Thank you.)