In the Heat of the Night

Rating

Director

Norman Jewison

Screenplay

Stirling Silliphant (Novel by John Ball)

Length

109 min.

Starring

Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oates, Lee Grant, Larry Gates, James Patterson, William Schallert, Beah Richards, Peter Whitney, Kermit Murdock, Larry D. Mann, Matt Clark, Arthur Malet, Fred Stewart, Quentin Dean, Scott Wilson, Timothy Scott, William Watson, Eldon Quick, Stuart Nisbet, Khalil Bezaleel, Peter Masterson, Jester Hairston, Phil Adams, Nikita Knatz, Sammy Reese, Anthony James

MPAA Rating

Approved

Review

Suspects emerge from every corner of a small southern town when the murder of a wealthy land developer exposes the town’s unspoken bigotry in the Norman Jewison film In the Heat of the Night.

Philadelphia homicide detective Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) is arrested in connection with a murder because he’s sitting in a train station and is black. When questioned by the city’s chief of police Bill Gillespie (Rod Steiger), he uncovers his true identity. Tibbs’ commanding officer has told him to help them investigate the crime, though it’s clear they don’t want his help, though they most certainly need it.

The film examines a number of different suspects and nearly every one of those that Gillespie suspects turn out to be the wrong man. Even Tibbs has problems as he believes wealthy plantation owner Eric Endicot (Larry Gates) is responsible and searches for a way to link him to the crime.

In the Heat of the Night is set during the black civil rights movement of the sixties. While gaining national acceptance for the most part, small segments of the populace in the south refused to set aside their prejudices. The film examines those types of peoples and tells the tale of one man initially blinded by hatred whose beliefs are transformed as the film progresses.

Gillespie begins the film as a self-righteous bigot. He initially refuses Tibbs’ help until Virgil brings to light evidence that contradicts Bill’s assertions. It is contentious but helps earn Tibbs respect in Gillespie’s eyes. As the film progresses slowly towards its climax, Gillespie begins to set aside his prejudices and embrace the smart and passionate Tibbs as an equal. He even begins trying to protect Tibbs fearing the public will murder him just for sticking his black nose into their white business.

Movies like In the Heat of the Night help demonstrate the villainy of our past and the courageousness of spirit that has worked miracles in civil rights. Though the picture is merely about black relations during the 1960s, it also serves as a stimulus for discussion about the preconceived notions of the American public and the desperate lengths people will go to in order to hold onto their warped sense of perspective. Instead of looking at their neighbors as human beings deserving of the same support and fairness as any other, they look for ways to pigeon-hole and castigate those who are different.

Celebrated screenwriter Sterling Silliphant has transformed John Ball’s novel into a compelling narrative on the struggles of civil rights in the south. Its unabashed language and frank exploration of emotionally touchy topics help serve the film admirably. Steiger also helps in transforming the socially repressed sheriff into an agent of change. Poitier does a suitable job as Virgil Tibbs. His strength of character and persistence help drive Bill Gillespie’s metamorphosis; however, his inability to vary his emotional response to various stimuli is sometimes distracting and off-putting. In the end, it’s Gillespie we most understand and sympathize with, not the put-upon Tibbs.

Civil rights in America have blossomed in the last 30 years and acceptance is growing for many previously-reviled segments of the population. As our history shows, it takes one voice to stand up against the status quo and to set aside his differences in order to achieve common goals. In the Heat of the Night is a terrific example of how our differences can become our strengths and how our strengths can result in victories.

Review Written

November 21, 2006