IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT

Winning multiple Oscars is no guarantee of quality but this 1967 film which won five Oscars (including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay) is a timeless classic, beautifully directed by Norman Jewison, who picked up one of his three nominations for Best Director here.

Given that it’s about racism in the Deep South one might wish that it has dated more than it has. Still, I am sure a lot of progress has been made - surely a Virgil Tibbs would not now be treated as disgracefully as he is here?

Tibbs (or should I call him Mister Tibbs?), played by Sidney Poitier, is a homicide detective from the North who just happens to be passing through Sparta, Mississippi when a murder happens.  Naturally, being black and a stranger he is arrested.

Once he has demonstrated his innocence to the local police chief Gillespie (Rod Steiger), everyone in Sparta, including Tibbs himself, wants him to leave, but events conspire for him and Gillespie to work together, albeit very reluctantly, to try to solve the murder.

The murder mystery itself is a decent enough one but the main focus of the film is race relations.  The way Tibbs is treated must have been an eyeopener for audiences then, and there is plenty that still shocks, especially the simple fact that just by staying in the town as a police officer he is risking his life.

One standout scene (among many) is when Tibbs and Gillespie visit Mr Endicott, a wealthy plantation owner and racist to boot.  He is so affronted at having to answer questions put to him by a black man, he slaps Tibbs.  When Tibbs responds in like fashion Endicott looks to Gillespie to arrest Tibbs, but Gillespie doesn't.  He's clearly puzzled at his own feelings which would seem to be that for the first time in his life he is siding with a black man ahead of a white man.

Both Poitier and Steiger give outstanding performances, but it was Steiger who won the Best Actor Oscar.  That's fair enough given that Gillespie is the more demanding role and Poitier already had an Oscar to his name.

Gillespie starts off as somewhat racist but has enough humanity in him that eventually a bond develops with Tibbs.  I love the final scene when they part at the train station.

This film won Best Picture ahead of some stiff competition ('The Graduate' and 'Bonnie and Clyde') but it's hard to argue with the Academy on this one.  

RATING: ✓✓✓ Absolutely Fabulous