In the Heat of the Night
Films about race in the 1960s can still be distressingly topical, especially now in the world of Ferguson and the death of Trayvon Martin. Sidney Poitier made massive strides as an African-American actor playing roles that took no prisoners and that forced America as a whole to look racial problems squarely in the face. However, few of his roles are more topical or fascinating as In the Heat of the Night.
Set in the fictional town of Sparta, Mississippi, In the Heat of the Night has Poitier as Virgil Tibbs, a police officer from Philadelphia who stops in Sparta and winds up being arrested for being a black man with a lot of money in his wallet. Faced with the inherent and violent racism of the town’s inhabitants, Tibbs also becomes caught up in the investigation of the murder of a wealthy entrepreneur. Assisting the local sheriff Bill Gillespie (Rod Steiger) in his investigation, Tibbs helps to uncover a seething world of violence and rage beneath the already not-so-attractive exterior of Sparta.
While In the Heat of the Night is ostensibly a murder mystery, it is more importantly about the various forms of racism that Tibbs encounters. The more prevalent distrust of the police officers gives way to the hatred of the working class whites and the politely racist wealthy men of the town. Tibbs’ relationship with Gillespie is the most interesting, however, as the pair begin to bond but ultimately cannot bridge the inherent racial divide of their respective worlds. It’s frightening how recognizable this story remains.
