--- title: "In the Heat of the Night" year: 1967 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/in-the-heat-of-the-night" fi1m_score: 85 critics_score: 75 critics_reviews: 12 published: "2026-09-20T04:52:45.372446+00:00" updated: "2026-09-20T04:52:45.748463+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # In the Heat of the Night (1967) Directed by Norman Jewison · 1h 49m · MPA PG-13 · Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller **Fi1m score: 85** · Critics 75 from 12 reviews *In a sentence:* Two policemen who cannot stand each other, one corpse nobody much misses, and a great deal of chewing gum > Norman Jewison’s Mississippi murder story holds up better than most films of its year, because Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger are playing people rather than positions. The mystery is thin and the solution is tidied away too quickly, but the two men are not. ## Synopsis Sparta, Mississippi, on a hot night in the 1960s. Deputy Sam Wood (Warren Oates) finds a man dead in the road: Colbert, a northern industrialist about to build a factory and bring the town jobs. At the railway station Wood picks up a well-dressed black stranger waiting for a train and takes him in. He is Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier), a homicide detective from Philadelphia. Police Chief Bill Gillespie (Rod Steiger) wants him gone by morning; Tibbs wants his train. The widow, Leslie Colbert (Lee Grant), will only keep the factory if Tibbs stays on the case, and Mayor Schubert (William Schallert) needs the factory. Gillespie arrests Harvey Oberst (Scott Wilson) with the dead man’s wallet, and Tibbs says he has the wrong man. ## Review Norman Jewison’s film is a murder mystery with a poor murder in it, and that turns out not to matter much. A wealthy northerner is found dead in the road in Sparta, Mississippi, and the town’s police chief, Bill Gillespie (Rod Steiger), spends the night arresting the wrong men. The first is Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier), pulled off a bench at the railway station for being black, well dressed and awake at that hour. Tibbs is a homicide detective from Philadelphia. Stirling Silliphant’s screenplay, from John Ball’s novel, keeps finding reasons to hold him in town, and every one of them is flimsy. It is as good as its reputation and better than its plot. We would recommend it to anyone with an evening and a taste for police work, with one caveat: who killed the man is the least interesting question it asks. The interesting one is how long two men who cannot stand each other can share a room, and Jewison keeps finding new rooms. The first interrogation sets the terms. Gillespie asks what Tibbs earns up north, Tibbs tells him, and Steiger’s face does the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Poitier is asked what they call him in Philadelphia and gives the line everyone knows, and the reason it still works is that he says it quietly. Steiger chews gum through the whole film, playing a man who needs his mouth busy so it will not say what he is thinking. Poitier does almost nothing with his body. Between them they turn a procedural into a fight about manners. Haskell Wexler shoots the town in two kinds of light. At night it is oily and yellow, the diner’s neon and the patrol car’s headlamps and not much else, so faces come at us out of the dark. By day it is white and hazy, heat you can see. Hal Ashby’s editing holds on faces longer than the period usually allowed; the autopsy scene, Tibbs at work over a body while men who have never watched one stand about, is cut entirely on who is looking at whom. Quincy Jones opens the score with Ray Charles singing the title song over a train coming in, then drops to harmonica and guitar under the night scenes. It is loud, and in the chase sequence it is too loud. Alan Levine has dressed Tibbs in a grey suit and tie, and half the film’s trouble is that suit. The scene that got at us is in a greenhouse. Eric Endicott (Larry Gates) is a cotton man who grows orchids, and he slaps Tibbs, and Tibbs slaps him back. We knew it was coming; everyone has seen the clip. We still sat forward, and not for the slap. It was for the moment after, when Jewison holds on Gates while the old man’s mouth works and nothing comes out, and then on Steiger in the doorway, who has watched all of it and does nothing. The film’s honesty is in what Gillespie fails to do. Around the two leads the town is well cast. Warren Oates is Sam Wood, the night deputy, sweating and slow and more pitiable than the script strictly requires. Lee Grant has one long scene as the widow, Mrs Colbert, and plays the only person in town who can see what is in front of her. Scott Wilson is Harvey Oberst, a boy running across a bridge with a dead man’s wallet, and Anthony James, as Ralph behind the diner counter, has a face Wexler lights like a lamp. The flaws are of their year. The mystery is solved the way television solved mysteries in 1967, by somebody saying the right thing at the right moment, and we did not believe a word of it. The strand involving Delores Purdy (Quentin Dean), a teenager who undresses in front of her kitchen window, is written with a leer the rest of the film is too grown up for. Tibbs is allowed to be angry only in ways that make him more admirable, which is a kind of flattery. The one serious dissent among the reviews we have read called the whole thing contrived, and we can see what was meant, though it undervalues how little the film lets the two men like each other. Watch it late, with the window open, and do not worry about the plot. At 109 minutes it wastes little, and the 12 certificate is fair: the worst violence in it is a slap, and the film knows exactly how bad that is. *Fi1m score 85, published 20 September 2026.* ### Reviews we read (12) - **The Times**, Kate Muir (★★★★★): The critic praises the gripping mystery in which Poitier rocks a Mississippi community as a sophisticated black detective wrongly arrested. They highlight the delicious grainy cinematography and Quincy Jones soundtrack in this classic. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/in-the-heat-of-the-night-1967-99j6lgzq3) - **Empire**, William Thomas (90/100, inferred): The critic praises the twist-filled storyline and excellent understated lead performances from Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger, along with strong support and a cool jazz score from Quincy Jones. It is called probably Norman Jewison's best picture and noted for its Oscar success. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/heat-night-review/) - **Little White Lies**, David Jenkins (3/4/4): The re-release review praises the film's enduring political relevance and Poitier's commanding performance as the standout element over its thriller plot. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/in-the-heat-of-the-night-1967/) - **The AV Club**, Mike D'Angelo (80/100, inferred): The film remains sadly topical for its sharp portrait of implicit racial bias in policing and everyday encounters. Steiger and Poitier's performances, especially in the tense initial interrogation scene, highlight the film's enduring relevance and nuanced character dynamics. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/half-a-century-later-in-the-heat-of-the-night-remains-1798256510) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (80/100, inferred): The critic finds the 1967 film still stands up well on re-release as a brilliant feverish drama despite some dated liberalism. They single out Sidney Poitier's elegant performance as Virgil Tibbs and the clever premise of the race thriller. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/nov/17/in-the-heat-of-the-night-review) - **Time Out**, Tom Huddleston (4/5): The critic finds the civil rights-era melodrama gripping and intense with hindsight, highlighting the strong performances and memorable script as key strengths. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/in-the-heat-of-the-night) - **Los Angeles Times**, Charles Champlin (70/100, inferred): Sees it as smooth, beguiling entertainment with sharp social observation and strong performances, especially by Poitier and Steiger. Highlights effective confrontation scenes and the way the film delivers its message without being overly heavy-handed. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/story/2022-08-31/from-the-archives-poitier-and-steiger-star-in-in-the-heat-of-the-night) - **Slant Magazine**, Derek Smith (70/100, inferred): The film offers a nuanced take on racial prejudice through the combative yet evolving relationship between Poitier's Tibbs and Steiger's Gillespie. It avoids simplistic resolutions, emphasizing the persistence of bias even amid mutual respect and professional collaboration. [Read](https://slantmagazine.com/dvd/in-the-heat-of-the-night-4k-uhd-blu-ray-review-norman-jewison) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, John Mahoney (70/100, inferred): The film is a gripping and suspenseful murder mystery that gains greater importance through its social significance and racial themes. Poitier's performance as the breakthrough Negro detective hero stands out, supported by strong direction and technical credits despite some flashy excesses. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/heat-night-review-1967-movie-1026024/) - **Variety**, A.D. Murphy (70/100, inferred): Praises excellent performances by Poitier and Steiger that overcome script and direction flaws to create an absorbing Southern murder drama. Notes strong production values and cast while criticizing uneven plotting, some pretentious direction, and unclear elements. [Read](https://variety.com/1967/film/reviews/in-the-heat-of-the-night-1200421432/) - **The New Yorker**, Penelope Gilliatt (30/100, inferred): Calls the film a simplistic rah-rah underdog story that reduces real racial issues to something odious and contrived. Criticizes heavy attitudinizing, predictable plot devices, and lack of genuine instinct over myth-making. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1967/08/05/heated-bandwagon) - **Eye for Film**, Jennie Kermode (90/100, inferred): The critic highlights the film's immeasurable historic value as a landmark in changing attitudes on race, alongside its strength as a superior thriller that holds up independently. Poitier's fierce, intelligent performance as Virgil Tibbs is singled out for praise, along with the film's noirish tone, the evolving buddy dynamic with Steiger, and Haskell Wexler's moody cinematography. [Read](http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/in-the-heat-of-the-night-1967-film-review-by-jennie-kermode) ## Details - **Director:** Norman Jewison - **Director:** Norman Jewison - **Screenplay:** Stirling Silliphant - **Novel:** John Ball - **Cinematography:** Haskell Wexler - **Editor:** Hal Ashby - **Music:** Quincy Jones - **Costume design:** Alan Levine - **Producer:** Walter Mirisch - **Cast:** Sidney Poitier as Virgil Tibbs; Rod Steiger as Police Chief Bill Gillespie; Warren Oates as Deputy Sam Wood; Peter Whitney as Deputy Courtney; Lee Grant as Mrs. Leslie Colbert; Anthony James as Ralph; William Schallert as Mayor Schubert; Scott Wilson as Harvey Oberst - **Runtime:** 1h 49m - **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13 - **Release (the US):** 2 August 1967 - **Genres:** Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller - **Budget:** $2 million - **Box office:** $27 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d15DhX_ltls ## Where to watch in the US - The Roku Channel: free, hd, leaving 2026-10-01 - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-20.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BR, CA, CL, CO, DE, ES, FI, FR, GB, HK, IE, IN, IT, JP, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, SE, SG, TH, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Academy Awards 1968: Best Director (nominated); Best Sound Editing (nominated); Best Actor (won); Best Film Editing (won); Best Picture (won); Best Sound (won); Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (won) ## If you liked this - *The Defiant Ones* (1958), Fi1m 74: Poitier chained to Tony Curtis on the run; the earlier, rougher version of the argument. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-defiant-ones.md) - *Sapphire* (1959): A London murder inquiry that turns into a portrait of who the city despises. - *Bad Day at Black Rock* (1955): A stranger steps off a train into a town with something to hide. - *Mississippi Burning* (1988), Fi1m 72: Two federal agents in the same state, twenty years on, arguing about method. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/mississippi-burning.md) - *Devil in a Blue Dress* (1995): Denzel Washington’s Los Angeles detective, working a city built to keep him out. --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/in-the-heat-of-the-night