Run time: 110 mins
Sidney Poitier’s commanding performance anchors this searing 1967 Southern noir classic.
Both a gripping murder mystery and a piercing exploration of racism in the American South, director Norman Jewison’s landmark entry in the detective genre is as emotionally charged as it is suspenseful.
When a wealthy industrialist is murdered in a small Mississippi town, the local police, led by bigoted Chief Gillespie (Rod Steiger), quickly arrest a black man at the train station, only to discover he’s Virgil Tibbs (Poitier), a top homicide detective from Philadelphia. Begrudgingly forced to work together, the two men must navigate hostility, prejudice, and growing mutual respect as they unravel the truth.
Poitier delivers a quietly commanding performance, imbuing Tibbs with intelligence, dignity, and simmering frustration. His iconic line “They call me Mister Tibbs!” lands like a thunderclap. Steiger, in an Oscar-winning turn, matches him with a complex portrayal of a man beginning to confront his own biases.
Taut, thoughtful, and still strikingly relevant, In the Heat of the Night is more than a crime drama. It’s a bold statement on justice, identity, and hard-earned change.
