In the Heat of the Night

( 9 )

Overview

The winner of the 1967 Oscar for Best Picture as well as four other Oscars, In the Heat of the Night is set in a small Mississippi town where an unusual murder has been committed. Rod Steiger plays sheriff Bill Gillespie, a good lawman despite his racial prejudices. When Virgil Tibbs Sidney Poitier, a well-dressed northern African-American, comes to town, Gillespie instinctively puts him under arrest as a murder suspect. Tibbs reveals himself to be a Philadelphia police detective; after he and Gillespie come to a...
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Overview

The winner of the 1967 Oscar for Best Picture as well as four other Oscars, In the Heat of the Night is set in a small Mississippi town where an unusual murder has been committed. Rod Steiger plays sheriff Bill Gillespie, a good lawman despite his racial prejudices. When Virgil Tibbs Sidney Poitier, a well-dressed northern African-American, comes to town, Gillespie instinctively puts him under arrest as a murder suspect. Tibbs reveals himself to be a Philadelphia police detective; after he and Gillespie come to a grudging understanding of one another, Tibbs offers to help in Gillespie's investigation. As the case progresses, both Gillespie and Tibbs betray a tendency to jump to culture-dictated conclusions. Still, the case is solved thanks to the informal teamwork of the two law officers. Based on the novel by John Ball, In the Heat of the Night inspired two sequels, both starring Poiter as Virgil Tibbs. In 1987, a TV series version of In the Heat of the Night appeared, with Carroll O'Connor as Gillespie and Howard Rollins as Tibbs.
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Editorial Reviews

All Movie Guide - Bruce Eder
Norman Jewison's In The Heat of the Night was one of the unlikeliest hits to come out of 1967. Few issues were more provocative or dangerous to discuss in private, much less on screen, than race relations in the United States, and that went double for the Deep South, where the movie (based on John Ball's book) was set. Additionally, the country didn't seem to be clamoring for that kind of discussion: to this day, Roger Corman's The Intruder (1961) is the only theatrical film ever made about school integration in the South. Jewison defied every piece of industry wisdom and won out, mostly because he played it straight and honest, with a cast led by two actors who could hardly have been improved upon for the parts they played. The thematic set-up was surprisingly similar to The Defiant Ones, in which Poitier had co-starred for Stanley Kramer nine years earlier, but the directorial touch was smoother and the film was filled with an enviable range of wonderful supporting performances. In The Heat of the Night was successful enough to generate a brace of films that tried for the same mix of topicality and drama (as well as two sequels, They Call Me Mister Tibbs and The Organization that were more action-oriented), among them William Wyler's The Liberation of L.B. Jones (which came from the same screenwriter), Lamont Johnson's made-for-television My Sweet Charlie, and Ralph Nelson's Tick Tick Tick, all of which opened race relations to more honest and straightforward cinematic exploration.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 1/9/2001
  • UPC: 027616614636
  • Original Release: 1967

    • Rating:

  • Source: Mgm (Video & Dvd)
  • Format: VHS

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Sidney Poitier Virgil Tibbs
Rod Steiger Police Chief Bill Gillespie
Warren Oates Deputy Sam Wood
Lee Grant Mrs. Leslie Colbert
James Patterson Purdy
Scott Wilson Harvey Oberst
Quentin Dean Delores Purdy
Larry Gates Eric Endicott
Beah Richards Mama Caleba
William Schallert Mayor Schubert
Matt Clark Packy Harrison
Anthony James Ralph Henshaw
Kermit Murdock H.E. Henderson
Khalil Bezaleel Jess
Peter Whitney George Courtney
William Watson McNeil
Timothy Scott Shagbag Martin
Larry D. Mann Watkins
Stuart Nisbet Shuie
Eldon Quick Charlie Hawthorne
Fred Stewart Dr. Stuart
Arthur Malet Ted Ulam
Peter Masterson Arnold Fryer
Alan Oppenheimer Ted Appleton
Phil Garris Engineer
Jester Hairston Butler
Clegg Hoyt Deputy
Phil Adams 1st Tough
Nikita Knatz 2nd Tough
Buzz Barton Conductor
Sammy Reese Clerk
Jack Teter Philip Colbert
Ray Charles Singer
Technical Credits
Norman Jewison Director
Del Armstrong Makeup
Hal Ashby Editor
Alan Bergman Songwriter
Marilyn Bergman Songwriter
Paul Groesse Art Director
Milt Hamerman Casting
Quincy Jones Score Composer, Songwriter
Alan Levine Costumes/Costume Designer
Walter Mirisch Producer
Robert Priestley Set Decoration/Design
James A. Richard Sound Editor
Stirling Silliphant Screenwriter
Lynn Stalmaster Casting
Haskell Wexler Cinematographer
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4
( 9 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(5)

4 Star

(1)

3 Star

(2)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(1)

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Sort by: Showing all of 9 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    I love In The Heat Of The Night

    I watched it every time I came across it on tv and thought it was time to buy a copy for my home library.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted September 16, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

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    Posted October 26, 2008

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    Posted February 26, 2010

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    Posted October 26, 2008

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    Posted July 8, 2010

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