In the Heat of the Night (film)

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In the Heat of the Night

original movie poster
Directed by Norman Jewison
Produced by Walter Mirisch
Written by John Ball (novel)
Stirling Silliphant (screenplay)
Starring Sidney Poitier
Rod Steiger
Lee Grant
Music by Quincy Jones
Cinematography Haskell Wexler, ASC
Editing by Hal Ashby
Distributed by United Artists
Release date(s) August 2, 1967
Running time 109 min.
Language English
Followed by They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

In the Heat of the Night is a 1967 film, based on the John Ball novel published in 1965, which tells the story of a Northern Black police detective who becomes involved in a murder investigation in a racist small town in Mississippi. The film won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor.

The film was followed by two sequels, They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! in 1970, and The Organization in 1971. It also became the basis of a television series entitled In the Heat of the Night, starring Carroll O'Connor, Howard Rollins, Alan Autry, David Hart, Anne-Marie Johnson and Hugh O'Connor.

Although the film was set in the fictional Mississippi town of Sparta (no connection to the real Sparta, Mississippi, an unincorporated community), part of the movie was filmed in Sparta, Illinois, where many of the film's landmarks can still be seen.

The quote "They call me Mister Tibbs!" was listed as #16 on the American Film Institute's AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes, a list of top movie quotes.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

Gillespie (left) and Tibbs (right) question a wealthy bigot (offscreen).
Gillespie (left) and Tibbs (right) question a wealthy bigot (offscreen).

When a wealthy man planning to build a factory in Sparta, Mississippi, is murdered, Police Chief Bill Gillespie (Rod Steiger) is pressured to find his killer quickly. Northerner Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier), passing through, is picked up at the train station with a substantial amount of cash in his wallet. Gillespie, heavily prejudiced against blacks as he is, jumps to the conclusion he has his culprit, but is embarrassed to learn that Tibbs is a respected Philadelphia homicide detective who had been visiting his mother. After this racist treatment, Tibbs wants nothing more than to leave as quickly as possible even though his captain recommends he stay and help, but the victim's widow (Lee Grant) is impressed by the detective's expertise clearing another wrongly accused suspect of the crime and threatens to stop construction on the much-needed factory unless he leads the investigation. Gillespie then talks Tibbs into lending his services.

Despite the rocky start to their relationship, they come to respect each other as they are forced to work together to solve the crime.

[edit] Cast

Actor Role
Sidney Poitier Detective Virgil Tibbs
Rod Steiger Police Chief Bill Gillespie
Warren Oates Officer Sam Wood
Lee Grant Mrs. Leslie Colbert
Larry Gates Eric Endicott
James Patterson Purdy (Delores' brother)
William Schallert Mayor Webb Schubert
Beah Richards Mama Caleba (aka Mrs. Bellamy)
Peter Whitney Officer George Courtney
Kermit Murdock H.E. Henderson (banker)
Larry D. Mann Watkins
Quentin Dean Delores Purdy
Anthony James Ralph Henshaw (diner counterman)
Arthur Malet Ted Ulam (mortician)
Scott Wilson Harvey Oberst (murder suspect)
Matt Clark Packy Harrison
Eldon Quick Charlie Hawthorne (photographer)

[edit] Awards

In the Heat of the Night was nominated for seven Academy Awards, winning five. They are as follows:

[edit] Academy Award Wins

[edit] Academy Award Nominations


Other wins and nominations are:

[edit] Wins

[edit] Nominations

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Awards
Preceded by
A Man for All Seasons		 Academy Award for Best Picture
1967		 Succeeded by
Oliver!
v • d • e
Academy Award for Best Picture

West Side Story (1961) · Lawrence of Arabia (1962) · Tom Jones (1963) · My Fair Lady (1964) · The Sound of Music (1965) · A Man for All Seasons (1966) · In the Heat of the Night (1967) · Oliver! (1968) · Midnight Cowboy (1969) · Patton (1970) · The French Connection (1971) · The Godfather (1972) · The Sting (1973) · The Godfather Part II (1974) · One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) · Rocky (1976) · Annie Hall (1977) · The Deer Hunter (1978) · Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) · Ordinary People (1980)

Complete List · (1928–1940) · (1941–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001–present)
v • d • e
Norman Jewison
1960s
40 Pounds of Trouble • The Thrill of It All • Send Me No Flowers • The Art of Love • The Cincinnati Kid • The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966)• In the Heat of the Night (1967) • The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)• Gaily, Gaily
1970s
Fiddler on the Roof (1971) • Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) • Rollerball (1975) • F.I.S.T. (1978) • ...And Justice for All (1979)
1980s
Best Friends (1982) • A Soldier's Story (1984) • Agnes of God (1985) • Moonstruck (1987)• In Country (1989)
1990s
Other People's Money (1991) • Only You (1994) • Bogus (1996) • The Hurricane (1999)
2000s
Television
"Your Hit Parade" (1950 - 1959) • "The Big Revue" (1952) • "Wayne and Shuster" (1954) • "The Denny Vaughan Show" (1954-1957) • "The Barris Beat" (1956) • "The Adventures of Chich" (1958) • "The Chevy Showroom Starring Andy Williams" (1958) • "The Big Party" (1959) • "The Revlon Revue" (1960) • "Picture Windows" (1994) • The 20th Century: Funny Is Money (1999) • Dinner with Friends (2001)
Productions
The Landlord (1970) • Billy Two Hats (1974) • Iceman (1984) • The January Man (1989)
Television Productions
"Let's See" (1952 - 1953) • "On Stage" (1954 - 1955) • "The Judy Garland Show" (1963 - 1964) • 53rd Academy Awards (1981)
Documentaries
The Fabulous Fifties (1960) (with Charles Eames and Ray Eames)
v • d • e
Virgil Tibbs trilogy
In the Heat of the Night (1967) · They call me Mister Tibbs! (1970) · The Organization (1971) ·