In the Heat of the Night

IMDb 7.7 1967 β€’ 109 min β€’ CrimeDramaMysteryThriller

Director

Norman Jewison

Country

US

Plot Summary

African-American Philadelphia police detective Virgil Tibbs is arrested on suspicion of murder by Bill Gillespie, the racist police chief of tiny Sparta, Mississippi. After Tibbs proves not only his own innocence but that of another man, he joins forces with Gillespie to track down the real killer. Their investigation takes them through every social level of the town, with Tibbs making enemies as well as unlikely friends as he hunts for the truth.

Top Cast

Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier Virgil Tibbs
Rod Steiger
Rod Steiger Police Chief Bill Gillespie
Warren Oates
Warren Oates Deputy Sam Wood
Peter Whitney
Peter Whitney Deputy Courtney
Lee Grant
Lee Grant Mrs. Leslie Colbert