In the Heat of the Night (A or 4/4 stars)
A Chicago industrialist is found dead in a Sparta, Mississippi alley 'In the Heat of the Night' (directed by Norman Jewison). Redneck Chief Gillespie (Rod Steiger) orders his deputies (like Warren Oates' Officer Woods) to find suspects. Woods picks up a poised, well-dressed, well-educated black man, Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier), waiting at the train station. After being held as a suspect, it's confirmed by a phone call that he's a 1st-rate homicide detective from Philadelphia who was in town visiting his mother. At first reluctant to get his expertise help, Gillespie accepts it when the grieving wife (Lee Grant, affecting) insists he be put on the case and the killer found, or else she will cancel plans to build the factory her husband was commandeering.
The bigoted mayor says it's a win-win situation for the chief; if he nabs the killer, everyone's happy and, if he fails he can blame "the Negro". Tibbs conducts the postmortem examination {fascinating scene!} & stubborn Gillespie must acknowledge his colleague's superior experience in forensics. Main suspect Harvey Oberst (Scott Wilson) has the victim's wallet, but only stole it when he saw the dead man lying in the street. And elderly racist plantation owner was the victim's #1 enemy, but Tibbs surmises that he's not the killer, either. Gradually Tibbs & Gillespie realize they must put aside differences, work together to solve the murder and, when they do, a grudging respect & camaraderie develops btwn. these men en route to discovering the culprit.
Like 1988's Mississippi Burning, 2011's The Help, and countless others, this film explores the ways in which whites have mistreated blacks in this country for 100s of years & how the mistreatment goes on today as I review it in 2019. Tibbs' intelligence, good looks, confidence & exquisite skill make him the kind of unimpeachable person who proves that pre-judging someone is a senseless act. 'ITHOTN' proves to be a tense, disturbing, thought-provoking, yet somewhat funny police procedural that exists as stinging social commentary, as well. It's an old-fashioned murder-mystery, buddy flick cop drama that is more stylish & engrossing than your usual fare; hence, it winning 5 Academy Awards, including Best Picture of 1967 over stiff competition.
Rod Steiger's blustery method acting performance perfectly conveys the inner dilemma of a racist man who is forced to confront his own prejudices while simply doing the right thing. Poitier's performance is a master class in controlled, quiet rage; using intense glares & uneasy silences whereas others might externally combust. His Tibbs thinks long & hard before answering questions and, in those silences, we construe a lifetime of growing up in the Deep South where a wrong answer could get you killed. This movie contains 2 memorable scenes involving Poitier. The 1st is when Gillespie says: "Virgil, that's a funny name for a nig*er boy to come from Philadelphia. What do they call you up there? ". Virgil responds: "They call me Mister Tibbs {iconic!} ". The 2nd has the Larry Gates character slap Virgil, followed by Virgil slapping him back ... talk about a powerful visual!
'In the Heat of the Night' is what I affectionately call a meat-&-potatoes film. Plop anyone down in front of it and they'll likely take to it. As mentioned above, it works as a tense thriller concerning the systemic racism of yesteryear {and today}. It works as a buddy flick. It works as an absorbing character study. There is comedy inherent in the situations, at hand. And the who-dun-it mystery component is the cherry on top. The atmosphere created by director Jewison is palpably unpleasant. The color cinematography is crisp. Quincy Jones offers a few original songs to complement his jazzy score. And if nothing else, watch this film to experience the chemistry btwn. 2 fantastic actors pitted against each other.
The bigoted mayor says it's a win-win situation for the chief; if he nabs the killer, everyone's happy and, if he fails he can blame "the Negro". Tibbs conducts the postmortem examination {fascinating scene!} & stubborn Gillespie must acknowledge his colleague's superior experience in forensics. Main suspect Harvey Oberst (Scott Wilson) has the victim's wallet, but only stole it when he saw the dead man lying in the street. And elderly racist plantation owner was the victim's #1 enemy, but Tibbs surmises that he's not the killer, either. Gradually Tibbs & Gillespie realize they must put aside differences, work together to solve the murder and, when they do, a grudging respect & camaraderie develops btwn. these men en route to discovering the culprit.
Like 1988's Mississippi Burning, 2011's The Help, and countless others, this film explores the ways in which whites have mistreated blacks in this country for 100s of years & how the mistreatment goes on today as I review it in 2019. Tibbs' intelligence, good looks, confidence & exquisite skill make him the kind of unimpeachable person who proves that pre-judging someone is a senseless act. 'ITHOTN' proves to be a tense, disturbing, thought-provoking, yet somewhat funny police procedural that exists as stinging social commentary, as well. It's an old-fashioned murder-mystery, buddy flick cop drama that is more stylish & engrossing than your usual fare; hence, it winning 5 Academy Awards, including Best Picture of 1967 over stiff competition.
Rod Steiger's blustery method acting performance perfectly conveys the inner dilemma of a racist man who is forced to confront his own prejudices while simply doing the right thing. Poitier's performance is a master class in controlled, quiet rage; using intense glares & uneasy silences whereas others might externally combust. His Tibbs thinks long & hard before answering questions and, in those silences, we construe a lifetime of growing up in the Deep South where a wrong answer could get you killed. This movie contains 2 memorable scenes involving Poitier. The 1st is when Gillespie says: "Virgil, that's a funny name for a nig*er boy to come from Philadelphia. What do they call you up there? ". Virgil responds: "They call me Mister Tibbs {iconic!} ". The 2nd has the Larry Gates character slap Virgil, followed by Virgil slapping him back ... talk about a powerful visual!
'In the Heat of the Night' is what I affectionately call a meat-&-potatoes film. Plop anyone down in front of it and they'll likely take to it. As mentioned above, it works as a tense thriller concerning the systemic racism of yesteryear {and today}. It works as a buddy flick. It works as an absorbing character study. There is comedy inherent in the situations, at hand. And the who-dun-it mystery component is the cherry on top. The atmosphere created by director Jewison is palpably unpleasant. The color cinematography is crisp. Quincy Jones offers a few original songs to complement his jazzy score. And if nothing else, watch this film to experience the chemistry btwn. 2 fantastic actors pitted against each other.