Controversial at the time of its making (1967), In the Heat of the Night may be dated in terms of dialogue but it remains (sadly) relevant and current more than 50 years later.
Waiting late one night for a train connection, Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) is picked up late one night for the murder of a wealthy businessman in the hicksville town of Sparta, Mississippi. Black and with money in his wallet makes him a key suspect. The fact he is the Philadelphia Police Dept’s number one homicide expert (slightly) embarasses local chief of police, Rod Steiger. Poitier finds himself instructed from his department to help out the investigation.
The fact director Norman Jewison made his film in Illinois and the one brief scene shot in Mississippi saw Poitier sleep at a motel with a gun under his pillow is indicative of the prevalent and dangerous mood of the time. Yet it’s Steiger who carries the acting honours, a superb and conflicted performance: a sultry and menacing air pervades as Detective Tibbs impresses a racist cop with deduction and professionalism.
Nominated for 7 Oscars in 1968 including best director, won 5 – best film, best actor, adapted screenplay, editing & sound.
Rating: 72%
Director: Norman Jewison (The Thomas Crown Affair, Moonstruck)
Writer: Stirling Silliphant (The Towering Inferno, The Poseidon Adventure) – based on the novel by John Ball
Main cast: Sidney Poitier (The Defiant Ones, Lilies of the Field), Rod Steiger (The Pawnbroker, On the Waterfront), Warren Oates (The Wild Bunch, The Brink’s Job)
An Opinion or Two 