Review of In the Heat of the Night (1967) by Jim G — 04 Dec 2007

Hollywood isn't as liberal as it likes to think. Too often its message movies are behind the times they condemn, trailing behind the trailblazers who have the nerve to speak out when it matters. In The Heat of the Night is something of an exception. Beyond that, it's simply a great film.

Principally a detective story, the murder of a wealthy businessman in small-town Mississippi is, for the most part, only a framework around which the real story can be told. This is a battle-of-wills between Detective Tibbs and Chief Gillespie, a struggle for power between black and white, a contest for acting honours between Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger. While there is no doubt as to which character is the victor, and which race is the most shamed, the actors are absolute equals. Both give superb, layered performances. Steiger's Gillespie is racist, proud, but lets us feel a degree of pity; Poitier's Tibbs is intelligent, thoughtful, but shows a degree of arrogance. These are not simply characters, but people.