In the Heat of the Night poster & wallpaper

Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oates

A black detective teams up with a racist white sheriff to solve a murder in a small town in the South. Over time, they begin to find respect for one another.

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91% liked it

17,338 ratings

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96% liked it

28 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 49 min.

Directed by: Norman Jewison

Release Date: August 2, 1967

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DVD Release Date: January 9, 2001

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Lee Grant & Sidney Poitier in In the Heat of the Night In the Heat of the Night In the Heat of the Night In the Heat of the Night Sidney Poitier In the Heat of the Night In the Heat of the Night Lee Grant in In the Heat of the Night In the Heat of the Night
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Flixster Reviews (948)

  • kiriyamakazou
    October 23, 2009
    kiriyamakazou
    It's so easy to make a 'race issue' movie, but it's hard to do it this well. Neither Poitier or Steiger are perfect human beings. Poitier is driven by a somewhat overbearing amount of arrogance. It's this, rather enjoyable, character flaw, that prevents him from being just anothe...( read more)r black man kept down by whitey. The plot is actually just a tool to explore the hate of the time and place, and because of this the conclusion is just an afterthought. The performances are powerful and it speeds through at a gripping pace. In the Heat of the Night, has no doubt lost a lot of it's power over the last 40 years, but it's still a wonderful movie.
  • stopitgoaway
    October 16, 2009
    stopitgoaway
    There are many bad "issues" movies out there, but this is not one of them. In a bad movie, all of the racist characters would be one dimensional and one hundred percent evil; here, Steiger is allowed to play a prejudiced man who is actually sympathetic and capable of growth (henc...( read more)e the Oscar). In a great twist, Virgil Tibbs himself is shown to be capable of prejudice, as he pursues Endicott without sufficient evidence. It's refreshing to see a movie that portrays the entire spectrum of racism, from the crazy extremists (and there are plenty of those on hand here) to the more subtly prejudiced.

    "Mississippi Burning," a weaker effort, is not only more tediously didactic, but also less progressive; that film doesn't feature a protagonist like Virgil Tibbs, and instead focuses on the actions of two white federal agents. In this case, the old movie really is the better movie; produced at the height of the civil rights struggle, "In the Heat of the Night" feels more immediate and passionate than preachy films on the subject that were made years later, after the tension had died down.

    Some reviewers complain that the mystery segments of the film are confusing, but I follow them without much trouble. Tibbs does a great Sherlock Holmes routine throughout, as he pieces together the solution based on clues that are also available to viewers. Sure, the ending is surprising, but it doesn't come entirely out of left field; I actually admire the subtle ways that clues are sewn throughout the film. If you're not used to mysteries, the barrage of red herrings and dead-end clues might surprise you, but it's pretty standard stuff for the genre.

    I knew about the classic line "They call me Mr. Tibbs!" long before I actually saw this movie. I used to wonder why the line was so famous; it doesn't sound that exciting, does it? But when I finally heard Poitier say it in context, I asked my brother to pause the tape so I could cheer without missing any of the subsequent dialog. That's how excited I get during this movie. The performances are so naturalistic, and the racial conflict so vividly drawn, that I get pulled into the action completely. Though 1967 was a strong year for films, I still think that the right one got Best Picture, and not just because it was topical; "In the Heat of the Night" is a well-directed, superb character study, populated by some of the most vivid characters I've ever encountered in a movie.
  • middleeasternfilms
    April 30, 2009
    middleeasternfilms
    Sidney Poitier portrays a black Philly detective who just happens to be passing through Sparta, Mississippi when he gets arrested for a murder that happened less than an hour earlier; all because he happens to be black and staying over in a racist southern town. When he convinces...( read more) the local police he didn't do it, he is then asked to stay and help solve the murder. But through it all, Rod Steiger's sheriff Gillespie has reservations and is constantly trying to get him to leave town so the local all-white police department can solve the case. The fact that a black police detective was so much better than a group of white police officers at solving crimes was only part of the reason this movie was so successful. Racial tensions were still simmering over in some places and this movie only portrayed those, especially with the acting talents of Academy Award winners Poitier and Steiger. And this film was 1,000 times better than that puke television show. Ugh!
  • bradwest
    October 2, 2008
    bradwest
    Ground breaking for its time. Still a superior thriller.
  • DrZeek
    June 22, 2008
    DrZeek
    Cheif Gillespie: What do they call you back in Pennsylvania!?
    Virgil Tibbs: They call me MISTER Tibbs!
    Chief Gillespie: Mr. Tibbs! Well Mr. Woods take Mr. Tibbs! Take him down to the depot and I mean boy like now!

    A great movie all around, combining a murder mystery with themes...( read more) of prejudice in the south.

    A body turns up in the middle of a small town in Mississippi. The sheriff, Chief Gilespie played by Rod Steiger, tells his deputy to round up anyone at the edge of town who is suspicious. The deputy finds a well dressed black man at the train station and immediately takes him in. After some questioning, it is revealed that this man is Detective Tibbs, played by Sydney Poitier, the best homicide detective from Pennsylvania.

    After dealing with his own chief, Tibbs is asked to help out with solving the murder in this little town, seeing as how they have no real experience in this field.

    The man that was murdered was a wealthy industrialist, bringing a factory and jobs to the town, so now his wife has threatened to take that away unless they let Tibbs help, seeing as how she has seen his expertise in action.

    Chief Gillespie: I got the motive which is money and the body which is dead.

    While apprehensive, both Tibbs and Gilespie have to learn to work together, despite their differences, to solve the crime.

    The story is great for all sorts of reasons. Its well handled, unfolding the mystery carefully and plausibly. The prejudice issue is also handled well, making use of it as a theme that helps the story out.

    Both Poitier and Steiger are great here. They both play people skilled in a certain degree and with personalities that clash and develop to an extent.

    Director Norman Jewison handles the film appropriately, with good camera work and editing. The soundtrack is also a good combination of mystery beats and a Ray Charles themes song.

    Great movie all around.

    Tibbs: Now listen, hear me good mama. Please. Don't make me have to send you to jail... There's white time in jail and there's color time in jail. The worst kind of time you can do is color time.
  • Yelverton
    November 20, 2009
    Yelverton
    Pretty good mystery film, but if I hear the n-word one more time...
  • spacecasefukface
    November 7, 2009
    spacecasefukface
    "they call me mr tibbs " best part is when virgil backhands that redneck. i could watch that over and over..
  • post73exploerer
    October 1, 2009
    post73exploerer
    fantastic, that's the only word I can describe this movie.
  • ElCochran90
    September 12, 2009
    ElCochran90
    A respectable and very well thought crime drama set in times of tension and racism. Often imitated, never duplicated.

    87/100
  • SageSlowdive
    August 24, 2009
    SageSlowdive
    Pretty good thriller.

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Comments

  • ashleyannl
    November 17, 2006
    ashleyannl
    I like this movie i like mysteries, and i read the book ninth grade or was it last year?? yes it's last year, still cool
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In the Heat of the Night Trivia

  • Oscar winner for Best Picture of 1967:  Answer »
  • Top 100 Movie Quotes Which 1967 movie has the quote "They call me Mister Tibbs!"?  Answer »
  • Name the actor who has appeared in The Blackboard Jungle, Buck and the Preacher, Defiant Ones, Guess Who Is Coming To Dinner, The Heat of the Night, and To Sir, With Love.  Answer »
  • The following movies were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture in 1967. Which movie won the Oscar?  Answer »
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