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77% Critic Match
In the Heat of the Night
“They got a murder on their hands. They don’t know what to do with it.”
7.7 / 10• 1967• 1h 49m•PG-13• English
CrimeDramaMystery
Storyline
African-American Philadelphia police detective Virgil Tibbs is arrested on suspicion of murder by Bill Gillespie, the racist police chief of tiny Sparta, Mississippi. After Tibbs proves not only his own innocence but that of another man, he joins forces with Gillespie to track down the real killer. Their investigation takes them through every social level of the town, with Tibbs making enemies as well as unlikely friends as he hunts for the truth.
Cast & Crew
Sidney Poitier
Det. Virgil Tibbs
Lead
Rod Steiger
Police Chief Bill Gillespie
Warren Oates
Deputy Sam Wood
Lee Grant
Mrs. Leslie Colbert
Larry Gates
Eric Endicott
James Patterson
Mr. Purdy
William Schallert
Mayor Schubert
Beah Richards
Mama Caleba
What People Are Saying
4.0
“A staggering achievement of craft and ambition. Norman Jewison's vision lands with breathtaking precision.”
4.0
“Every frame feels alive. In the Heat of the Night is the rare release that takes its audience seriously.”
