In the Heat of the Night (1967)
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A Philadelphia homicide detective and a local Mississippi cop must navigate racial tensions and a complex murder investigation.
The story
In September 1966, the body of wealthy industrialist Phillip Colbert is discovered in Sparta, Mississippi. Virgil Tibbs, a black homicide detective from Philadelphia, is initially detained by local police but is soon tasked with assisting the local chief, Bill Gillespie, in the investigation. Despite the palpable racial tensions and the local community's hostility toward Tibbs, the two men must work together to identify the killer. Tibbs's presence in the small town creates immediate friction, and as the investigation deepens, the complexities of the crime and the prejudices of the local residents create a high-stakes atmosphere of suspicion and danger.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After the murder of industrialist Phillip Colbert, Virgil Tibbs, a black detective from Philadelphia, is forced to work with the prejudiced local chief, Bill Gillespie. Tibbs determines the murder happened earlier than reported and was committed by someone else. The investigation leads them to various suspects, including the local elite and a local officer, Sam Wood, who is eventually arrested for a different crime. The tension peaks when a local mob forms to attack Tibbs after he is confronted by a local man, Lloyd. Tibbs manages to identify the true killer, a man named Ralph Henshaw, who is caught after a confrontation. The film ends with Tibbs and Gillespie sharing a moment of mutual respect before Tibbs departs.
- First release year
- 1967
- Runtime (minutes)
- 110
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Norman Jewison
- Writers
- Stirling Silliphant · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Sidney Poitier · Virgil Tibbs; Rod Steiger · Bill Gillespie; Warren Oates; Lee Grant
- Genres
- mystery-drama; Southern Gothic
- Themes
- racism; racial unity; prejudice
- Tone and mood
- tense; serious; suspenseful
- Setting
- Sparta, Mississippi, 1966
- Premise and plot tags
- mystery; buddy cop; crime
- Source material / true-story basis
- John Ball's 1965 novel of the same name
- Franchise connections
- In the Heat of the Night
- Reception
- The film was a widespread critical and commercial success, noted for its portrayal of a tense, gritty vision of the South and its exploration of racial dynamics.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 96% · scale: percentage · review count: 89; Metacritic · score: 75 · scale: 100 · review count: 14
- Awards and nominations
- Oscar · Best Picture · win; Oscar · Best Adapted Screenplay · win; Oscar · Best Actor · win; Oscar · Best Sound Mixing · win
- Production trivia
- The film was the first major Hollywood film in color lit with proper consideration for a Black person.; The quote 'They call me Mister Tibbs!' was ranked #16 on the AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes.; The film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 2002.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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