"In the Heat of the Night" (1967)

Rank on the AFI List: #75

WHAT I ALREADY KNEW ABOUT THE MOVIE:
Only that it starred Sidney Poitier and included the famous quote, "They call me Mr. Tibbs."

LET ME EXPLAIN...
This was my first Sidney Poitier film, and I was excited to see him act. I might be ignorant about this, but I always thought he was kind of like the Jackie Robinson of film (even though other African Americans had been in movies before him, and even won awards). So, with that, I assumed "In the Heat of the Night" would convey at least some racial issues (especially since it was made in the 1960s). And that is certainly what it did.

It was a bit amusing that when my wife and I paused it at about 40 minutes in, I said, "this is pretty good, but something quite significant better happen in the second half, or I will be really confused as to why this is considered one of the best movies ever made." Then we started watching again, and in about 10 minutes, I really began to understand why it's such a good movie (and why "They call me Mr. Tibbs" is considered one of the greatest quotes in movie history).

Yes, it was a good cop-drama, mystery-thriller, CSI-like movie. If you like that stuff, this is a movie I'd recommend, especially thinking about how cutting edge CSI must have been in 1967. But that's not why this is considered to be one of the best movies ever made.

What makes this a "Top 100" Movie?
Sidney Poitier is a great cop from Pennsylvania. He's very smart. He's also black and forced to solve a crime in a bigoted town in the deep South in the 60s. Consider that scenario. A black man who has a job that demands respect is forced to do his job in a place where black people get absolutely no respect (to say the least). And then add to that that he is far and away the smartest, most level-headed person in the bigoted town, yet he still gets treated like he's inferior. The racial tension throughout the entire movie is what makes this one of the best in American history. Oh, and it was also nominated for seven Academy Awards and won five of them, including Best Picture.

Not really a complaint, but...
When the crime is solved at the end, it was a little confusing as far as motive and what exactly happened. I sort of deduced those things after a few minutes, but it almost felt like the actual crime being solved was beside the point. Of course, as I said earlier, it's the scenario of the story that's the real plot, so I guess I can't really fault the movie for not straying off its intended course.

Great Movie Moment!
I don't want to ruin this particular scene for anyone, so I can't give specifics. But I just have to say that "In the Heat of the Night" has one of the all-time BEST movie moments EVER!! My wife and I absolutely LOVED it! (You'll have to watch this to know what I'm talking about. But you'll know it when it happens.)


LET ME SUM UP...
This was a very good movie. The scenario of the story alone is provocative, and then add in some great acting (Rod Steiger won the Academy Award for Best Actor, and Sidney Poitier deserved at least a nomination) a well-written screenplay (which also won an Academy Award), and one of the best scenes EVER in film, and this was a thoroughly enjoyable movie.

MY RATING: 8/10

TOTAL # OF FILMS WATCHED: 61