In the Heat of the Night

 In the Heat of the Night 1967

• Director: Norman Jewison
• Seen by this director: In Country, Moonstruck, A Soldier’s Story, And Justice for All, Jesus Christ Superstar, Fiddler on the Roof, The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming!
• Based on the book by John Ball
• Cast: Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oates, Lee Grant, Larry Gates, James Patterson, Beah Richards, Quentin Dean, Scott Wilson, Anthony James
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Sidney Poitier – To Sir with Love II, For Love of Ivy, Guess Who’s Coming to Dimmer, A Patch of Blue, To Sir with Love, Paris Blues, Good-bye My Lady, Blackboard Jungle
• Rod Steiger – Mars Attacks, The Ballad of the Sad Café, The January Man, Happy Birthday Wanda June, Doctor Zhivago, Blackboard Jungle, Oklahoma!
• Warren Oates – TV series
• Lee Grant – Defending Your Life, Valley of the Dolls, TV series
• Beah Richards – Beloved, Drugstore Cowboy, Guess Who’s Coming for Dinner, TV series
• Anthony James –TV series
• Why? Good film.
• Seen: Twice before. Now 2 December 2021.      

       You know the story. Black cop from Philadelphia (‘They call me Mr Tibbs!’) (Poitier) finds himself involved in a murder investigation in Mississippi. It’s the 60’s. His partner (Steiger) is a racist. The whole town is racist.

       It’s a classic.

       I’ve been reading Poitier’s Measure of a Man. Very interesting. Now I’m curious to see his films again.

       It deserves all its accolades and 50-year reputation. If Poitier and Steiger had never made another film, they would still deserve their star status.

       It was dynamite back then. It’s dynamite now. 

5* of 5.