Not only is this late '60's film a great detective story but it is also about racism and bigotry. Mr Tibbs, a homicide investigator from Philadelphia, finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation from being in the wrong place at the wrong time and for being black in a small Mississipi town filled with white supremicist crazies. After being cleared of the murder, the sherrif ropes Mr Tibbs into the hunt for the real murderer as he is clearly the only competent policeman in town. But his being black is a constant hinderance. The common townfolk want to run him out of town or worse; suspects slap him for being an "uppity nigger" (not a direct quote), and many residents are nostalgic for the old days when they could have just shot him and be done with it.
But racism isn't all this film is about. Every character, even Mr Tibbs, have their own prejudices which affect their ability to solve the case. But at the end some characters do change in their point of view.
The acting is sublime. Sidney Portior's Mr Tibbs grits his teeth at all the hopeless racism about him, but gets on with the job despite or because of it. Rod Steiger's character is a run straight through type of guy, but Steiger finds something else in him that peeks through; a kind of humanity underneath the lunacy.
In The Heat Of The Night must have had a powerful affect on cinema goers of the time and I don't think it has yet lost its punch. We still inhabit a World filled with prejudice, racism and bigotry. White supremicists, religious extremists, they're still here.

Rare and exciting events in cinema annals occur when two great performers are at the top of their craft and are drawn by each other's energy to scale soaring heights. This occurred in David Lean's "The Bridge on the River Kwai" with Alec Guinness and Sessue Hayakawa. It happened again with Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine in "Sleuth" after, as the latter actor noted, he told his co-star at the film's outset, "Take your best shot, Larry!"

The same kind of brilliant one-on-one chemistry emerged in the 1967 classic produced by Walter Mirisch and directed by Norman Jewison, "In the Heat of the Night." From the very outset, when Sidney Poitier as a visitor to a small rural Mississippi town is arrested by enthusiastic deputy Warren Oates as he sits on a train station bench, believing that he has solved a recently committed murder, viewers were aware that this film contains a special kind of magic. Oates eagerly takes Poitier to the police station and presents his murder suspect to his boss, the town's police chief played by Rod Steiger.

It is a very small rural town buried deep in racial stereotypical tradition. When Poitier is spotted on a bench awaiting the next train after a wealthy northern white man has been murdered, it is assumed that the stranger is guilty. Both Steiger and Oates receive a tremendous jolt when the well dressed Poitier explains that not only is he a visitor from the northeast, specifically Philadelphia, who was preparing to leave town after visiting his mother; he is a top homicide officer from the major eastern city who makes considerably more money more than Steiger.

The interesting character to observe for the film's character arc is Steiger. While a police chief in a small town deeply rooted in a segregationist past, he immediately demonstrates not only a pragmatic willingness to adapt that is not evident in his deputies and others in town; he exhibits ethical fairness when it comes to evaluating Poitier. He concludes that Poitier possesses an expertise for shrewd murder investigation that none of the members of his force, including himself, possess.

Considering the controversy of using an African American detective from the northeast to solve a local case, the issue becomes a hot potato for Steiger. The deciding element becomes Lee Grant, widow of the murdered man, who was a rich northern manufacturer planning to build a factory in town amid great controversy. Grant concludes that solving her husband's death will be greatly enhanced by Poitier heading the investigation.

The decision is naturally a controversial one and town bullies immediately seek to attack Poitier, who is assisted by Steiger, to the fury of the racist element, that feels Steiger is a traitor to his race and class. Two strong men from different backgrounds and cultures, there is a natural clash between Poitier and Steiger, but the film's ultimate message of hope is that the latter is able to learn and put past prejudices behind him in the pursuit of justice.

In the most memorable clash between the two men, occurring early in the film, Poitier responds with the most single memorable line of his distinguished movie career. When, after Poitier has been referred to as "boy" with great frequency and is asked by Steiger what he is called among his colleagues in Philadelphia, he stiffens with determination, stares determinedly at Steiger, and emphatically responds:

"They call me Mr. Tibbs!"

As the film progresses and the hunt for the killer intensifies, we learn that Steiger is a natural outsider within the small town he serves as chief of police. Like Poitier he is married to his job, as both are bachelors. When he invites the African American visitor inside his house one evening the chief of police reveals that Poitier is treading where townsfolk do not. Steiger is a man dominated by privacy.

Steiger won a highly deserved "Best Actor" Oscar for his brilliant portrayal, assisted by the powerful work done by Poitier, who had secured an Academy Award less than five years earlier for the 1963 release "Lillies of the Field." In addition to Steiger's award, the film was honored as "Best Picture" while Stirling Silliphant won in the "Best Screenplay" category and Hal Ashby took home the Oscar for "Best Editor".

In addition to being a powerful visual experience, "In the Heat of the Night" is also memorable for Quincy Jones's brilliant musical score with Ray Charles opening the film on a brilliant note by singing the film's title song.

In the Heat of the Night tells the story of crime and punishment in the 1960's South. With racial tensions brewing we learn that the facts of a murder case aren't all black and white. The views of the individual often color their interpretation of the story.
Rod Steiger plays Sheriff Gillespie; a small-town cop trying to crack the case of the murder of a to close the case quickly, he soon brings in Virgil Tibbs (played by Sidney Potier) for questioning. It turns out MISTER Tibbs is actually a Philadelphia police homicide expert visiting his mother. On their quest to find the killer both men are forced to deal with their racist views about the other and their perceptions of society overall. The plot has many twists and turns; and the real killer's motivation for the committing is truly a surprise worth waiting for.
Rod Steiger and Sidney Potier give powerful performances, each scene they're in together brews with intensity. You feel every emotion as they virtually disappear into the background and let Gillespie and Tibbs come to life to tell their story. Steiger won the Oscar for best actor that year; it was well deserved. The opening song by Ray Charles sets the tone for the entire movie the slow tense down home beats take you into the Deep South and transplant you back to the 1960's.

Overall a Shawn James five star essential movie. This one is a must buy. It truly is worth the purchase price. While you're buying this, get Potier's version of A Raisin in the Sun and A Patch of Blue and see one of the legendary black actors show you how its done.

"In The Heat of the Night" is the racially charged melodrama that made Sidney Poitier a star. Poitier is Det. Virgil Tibbs, an out of state detective assigned to investigate a racially motivated crime in the deep South. Tibbs' initial congenial good nature immediate brand him a push over by both his fellow officers and the populous. But Tibbs is a man of conviction. He immediately runs into interference from Police Chief Bill Gillespie (Rod Steiger), a bigoted and pompous law man who begins to change his ways when it turns out that Virgil's hunch on the case might just turn out to be true. Both the central performances of Poitier and Steiger, and the unlikely bond and ultimate friendship that ensue, are electrifying reasons to revisit this powerful drama of the 1960s. Lee Grant, Beah Richards and Warren Oates costar. In the late 80s "In The Heat of the Night" became a prime time television series starring Caroll O'Connor. But by then much of the tempestuous and confrontational aspects of its subplot had been removed. Colors are severely dated with a lot of fading present throughout the print. Age related artifacts are everywhere and sometimes distract. Black levels are often weak. Pixelization is primarily responsible for an unstable image. The audio is mono and badly dated as well, strident and poorly balanced. There are no extras.

In 1967, Sidney Poitier again stirred the red-necks with "In the Heat of the Night", where he plays Virgil Tibbs, a competent Philadelphia cop stuck overnight in a Mississippi town. It must be 110 degrees at night. The white boys sweat like stuck pigs while Virgil is as cool as a cucumber in a Savoy Row suit. The sheriff, Rod Steiger, is discomfited by circumstances in which Tibbs is "lent" to him to solve a murder that happens to occur when he is there. In working together, layer after layer of characterization is stripped away in marvelous fashion, through the skill of director Norman Jewison (who tells everybody he is not a Jew, he is Methodist), until understanding between the two men become a metaphor for the healing of a divided America. Very good stuff.

STEVEN TRAVERS
AUTHOR OF "BARRY BONDS: BASEBALL'S SUPERMAN"
STWRITES@AOL.COM