While I did grow up in the 80’s and 90’s when cable TV was in almost every home, I spent many summers with my Grandparents in northern Michigan. Up there we didn’t have cable and we were relegated to only the main network stations, of which there was only 3 and ½ at best that came in with a decent signal. So when we wanted to watch television the choices weren’t very wide and we had to watch what Grandma and Grandpa wanted. So I got to watch a few more procedural police dramas than I probably should have at a young age. One that I remember was “In the Heat of the Night.” I thought it was a little goofy and to be honest I didn’t get the whole racist thing at such a young age so I just didn’t get it. The television show was based on the 1967 Oscar winning movie of the same name. Watching it now, fully aware of the civil rights struggle of the 60’s, I get it now. “In the Heat of the Night” is one of the most powerful movies about race that I have ever seen.
The movie tells the story of a murder investigation in the small town of Sparta, Mississippi. At the beginning of the investigation the local sheriff arrests the first black man he sees. This turns out to be a detective (Tibbs) from out of state whom is trying to leave town after visiting his Mom. Eventually Tibbs decides to help the small town police force solve the murder. Throughout the movie Tibbs does several things that anger the southern town that has yet to overcome racism. Eventually mobs try to chase him out of time, but his duty and want to find the truth keep him there until he is able to solve the murder and at the very least earn respect from the local sheriff.
This film was really two stories in one film. The first is the murder mystery. The mystery here is great and full of twists and turns and it never feels like we are just being feed an endless string of red herrings. Each person we look at fits what we know about the murder at the time and then another clue is found that leads us somewhere else. The second story is southern racial tension. Seeing the view of a strong black character with a temper is quite different to the quiet strength that usually gets portrayed in this type of situation was great to see and since it was Sydney Poitier acting it made the emotions feel very real. He really owned this movie. It is easy to see why he is so fondly remembered for this film. All the other aspects of the film were handled very well, but it was the acting of Poitier that really stood out.
Overall this film still carries a strong message and has a great murder mystery that isn’t easily solvable and would keep a new audience on their feet. It gets 5 out of 5 stars.
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