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This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

"The Thomas Crown Affair" director Norman Jewison made this breakthrough African-American/White-American murder mystery when he lensed John Ball's novel "In the Heat of the Night," and captured the Oscar for Best Picture of 1967. Not only did the film win for Best Picture, but also Rod Steiger won a Best Actor Oscar, along with Hal Ashby taking home a statuette for Best Editing, and scenarist Stirling Silliphant for his adaptation of Ball's novel. Incidentally, the novel was John Ball's first murder-mystery, and it received the Edgar Award for Best First Novel from the Mystery Writers of America. United Artists and producer Walter Mirisch were so worried about the subject matter that reportedly, Mirisch projected what the film might gross if the studio decided to bypass releasing it in the South. Racial tensions were still high below the Mason/Dixon Line, and Poitier insisted that Jewison shoot the bulk of the film in Illinois rather than Mississippi. Indeed, the 'N' word is spouted several times, but more often than not, Tibbs is scornfully referred to as a 'boy.' Eventually, Jewison persuaded Poitier to shoot a few scenes in Tennessee where he meets the county's leading citizen, Eric Endicott (Larry Gates of "Lucky Luciano") whose own racism is as conspicuous as his lily-white complexion. The slapping scene may have been controversial in some spots in the South. No sooner does Endicott slap Virgil Tibbs than he responds in like with a similar slap! Basically, a Northerner entrepreneur named Colbert has decided to build a factory in rural Mississippi. However, before construction commences, Colbert is murdered, and his wallet stolen. Sparta, Mississippi, Deputy Sam Wood (Warren Oates of "Return of the Seven") discovers the corpse in the middle of a side street. Wood's superior Chief Gillespie (Rod Steiger of "Waterloo") dispatches Wood to check certain other nightspots. Wood pokes his head into the local railway depot, and he arrests a neat, well-dressed African-American male. Proudly, Wood brings his prisoner in for questioning. Imagine Chief Gillespie's surprise and shock when he learns Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier of "Duel at Diablo") is the best homicide detective on the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Police Department. Moreover, he is further disturbed that Tibbs makes $162.39 a week. Eventually, Gillespie confirms Tibbs' story with a brief telephone conversation with his superior. Trouble emerges when Tibbs finds himself stuck in a tight-spot. Either he can assist Chief Gillespie with the murder investigation (something his superior in Pennsylvania suggest), unless Tibbs is prejudiced. Ultimately, "In the Heat of the Night" depicts the uneasy relationship between a seasoned Northern black detective and a bigoted white Southern town marshal. Neither Tibbs nor Gillespie wants to have anything to do with each other. Nevertheless, they are forced to cooperate when Colbert's widow (Lee Grant of "Voyage of the Damned") approaches Mayor Schubert (William Schallert of "Hour of the Gun") and insists that they take advantage of Tibbs' expertise with crime scene investigation. Tibbs conducts a post-mortem inspection of Colbert's remains, and he concludes based on evidence that the individual who killed Colbert used his right hand. The second suspect that Gillespie's deputies haul in after a strenuous chase, Harvey Oberst (Scott Wilson of "In Cold Blood"), is cleared of murder because he is a southpaw. Mrs. Colbert was at the police department when this scene occurred. Reluctantly, Gillespie drops the murder charges against Oberst, but he holds him for theft. Mrs. Colbert threatens to pack up her husband's engineers and return to Chicago, Illinois, unless Gillespie uses Tibbs. Mayor Schubert advises Gillespie to avail himself of Tibbs' services. Schubert explains that Mrs. Colbert has insisted, but also neither Gillespie nor he will suffer any blowback if Tibbs' botches the case. Later, Tibbs admits to the black family that gives him a roof over his head that he is 'a whipping boy.'The investigation relies primarily on evidence that Tibbs amasses rather than wily Sherlock Holmes' sleuthing. The actual murder is caught, and he confesses that he committed the homicide. Nobody gives a bad performance, and everybody seems to have some character trait that comes out when they appear. For example, Chief Gillespie chews gum constantly. When Tibbs interviews Mrs. Colbert in her motel room, she spends the time extracting strands of his husband's hair from his hair brush. A café owner, Ralph (Anthony James of "High Plains Drifter"), likes to shoot flies with a rubber band. Poitier is especially good. Watch is body language when he decides to accompany Gillespie back to town to solve the murder.I've lived in the South for most of my life, and I was amazed at how much Sparta, Illinois, resembled Starkville, Mississippi, as well as other towns in the prairie.

Race relations are brought to the forefront in 'In The Heat Of The Night (1967)', an engaging and well-paced mystery-thriller. The direction is great, the script captures a sense of time and place and Sir Sidney Poitier gives a fantastic, forceful performance. The themes within are just as important today as they were back then and there's a remarkable clarity to the piece, despite some ever-so-slightly problematic aspects expected with a picture of its age, and there is certainly a sense of forward-thinking to the story. It's an important and impactful flick that's as entertaining as it is thought-provoking. 7/10

In the heat of the night "A hundred and sixty-two dollars and thirty-nine cents a week? Well boy! Sam, you take him outside but treat him nice, because a man that makes a hundred and sixty-two dollars and thirty-nine cents a week, we do not want to ruffle him! " Even when his intelligence laid on the table, racial preoccupation would still stand the way of his investigation." In the heat of the night" was directed by Norman Jewison in 1967. Different from other crime drama, this story puts more focus on building characters rather than the murder itself. This story described a story of a black police detective uncovered a murder case in a small southern racist town. When detective Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) waiting for a train at the station, a police officer (Rod Steiger) arrested him and accused him of murdering a successful businessman. When he clarified his identity at the police station, the local chief unwillingly asks for his assistance. During the investigation, Virgil's life had been threatened due to racial prejudice. While the racial tensions are growing over time, the hostility of chief is fading... Although storyline evolve around the murder events, still the movie shows a lot of interactions between Virgil and other characters. It draws audiences focus on the question: Can Virgil's career excellence overcome the prejudices and successfully reveal the mystery? " In the heat of the night" won a Best Picture Oscar Award by successfully conveyed the pictures of a hot, slimy, and small southern town. In the film, everyone's head was full of beads of sweat; it makes audiences feel the heat of the hot summer. Also, the characters often held an iced coke in their hand, and it reminds viewers the thirsty feeling of a hot day. By using small details and high saturated color, the film creates realistic pictures of the environment. The chief was very well acted, his accent and the noisy sound of gums also enhanced the impression of his personality. Overall, this is an engaging, entertaining, and well-acted movie.

Personally, This movie wasn't one of my favorites. It wasn't my kind of movie but for the 60's the acting was good and it had a good story line. This movie also touched up on racism in the 60's as well in parts of the movie you can see how Virgil is treat in Mississippi during this time. One of my favorite parts of the movie was when they went to the plantation owner and Virgil slapped him. Overall this movie was good for it's time but I wouldn't watch it again.