Review of In the Heat of the Night (1967) by Casey W — 05 Jan 2010
In the Heat of the Night is about a Pennsylvanian African American homicide detective that happens to be in a small town in Mississippi when a murder of a wealthy guy takes place. Initially the protagonist is brought in and it is assumed he's guilty since he's black and has a lot of money. It turns out he's a cop and his police chief confirms this and recommends he helps investigate the murder which eventually is what happens. The guy does a pretty good job but there's all sorts of racism along the way. The film is also notable for containing the rather famous line "They call me Mr. Tibbs".
This film won 5 Oscars including best picture and best actor for Rod Steiger. I was surprise Steiger won the award while Sidney Poitier wasn't nominated given that Poitier's role was more important and he was billed as the lead actor.
Overall, this film was basically just a murder mystery with a few other elements thrown in. It has a few decent action sequences and a good enough plot. I'm surprised this film won best picture over Bonnie and Clyde and The Graduate but this certainly isn't the lead deserving best picture winner.
77/100.
C+.
This review of In the Heat of the Night (1967) was written by Casey W on 05 Jan 2010.
In the Heat of the Night has generally received very positive reviews.
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