Best Picture: "In the Heat of the Night," 1967

Movie Stats:

Released 1967 (USA)

American, in English

Director – Norman Jewison (Who directed “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming,” which I maligned in my last movie post, hahaha, and also “Moonstruck,” one of my favorite films. Weird filmography!)

Stars – Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger

Plot Summary:

Philadelphia Police Detective Virgil Tibbs (Poitier) is just passing through Sparta, Mississippi when he’s wrongfully arrested for a high-profile murder. After discovering that Tibbs’s specialty is murder cases, local Police Chief Gillespie (Steiger) reluctantly asks for his help and Tibbs soon finds himself sucked into the case.

Bad Stuff:

To be honest, there wasn’t a whole lot about it that I didn’t like. My only major quibble is that it seemed a little slow in places (although I was never bored) while, at the same time, it was over in the blink of an eye. If that makes sense.

Good Stuff:

I thought it did a fantastic job of portraying racism in a realistic light. So many movies & shows about this subject beat you over the head. I felt like this movie was saying, “Here it is. This is what it looks like,” letting you feel the disgust you should be feeling without overemphasizing the point.

Truly phenomenal acting from everybody, even from the entire supporting cast. I know I say this a lot, but the expressions on actors’ faces really struck me. Sometimes the subtlest expression can really make a scene, and that was certainly true here. Some favorites: the “not this shit again” look on Tibbs’s face when he’s being arrested; the horror/disgust on several characters faces after Tibbs touched them casually; the expression of sheer, impotent rage & depression on the face of Endicott (Larry Gates) after he’s been slapped by a black man. Masterful stuff.

Loved the progression of the relationship between Tibbs and Gillespie from loathing to grudging respect to friendship, on both sides.

The Verdict:

What a fantastic movie! I have to say that it was really nice to finally see a best picture winner with a black lead. It was also nice to see Rod Steiger again (last seen in On the Waterfront in a very different role). Also, it’s the closest we’ve gotten to female nudity since 1928 – nearly 40 years! – if you’re into that sort of thing. And the plot was pretty tight; I didn’t even guess the identity of the killer! So I can’t think of a single reason why you wouldn’t want to see this film. In fact, you should go see it now.

I give it 4.75 stars.