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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
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!
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

In the Heat of the Night is a 1967 film, based on the John Ball novel published in 1965 of the same name, which tells the story of a Northern Black police detective who becomes involved in a murder investigation in a racist small town in Mississippi. It won the Academy Award for best picture in 1967.

In 2002 the United States Library of Congress deemed the original film "culturally significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry. 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.

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.

Part of the movie was filmed in Sparta, Illinois, where many of the film's landmarks can still be seen.

The movie is referenced in The Lion King when Pumbaa, imitating Sidney Poitier's character, affirms that "they call me Mister Pig!"

1 Synopsis
2 Cast
3 Awards
- 3.1 Wins
- 3.2 Nominations
4 See also
5 External links

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 money in his wallet. Gillespie jumps to the conclusion he has his (African-American) man, 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, but the victim's widow (Lee Grant) is impressed by the detective's expertise and threatens to stop construction on the much-needed factory unless he leads the investigation. Gillespie then talks Tibbs' captain 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.

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)