8/24/20 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: In the Heat of the Night- Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger

Sidney Poitier, in one of his most-celebrated roles, appears as Virgil Tibbs, a Philadelphia homicide detective who, while visiting a small Mississippi town, will find himself falsely arrested for a murder and then, in a strained collaboration with the town’s sheriff (Rod Steiger), stays on to help solve the murder.
Steiger’s town is a backward “redneck” Southern burg whose population includes an aristocratic racist, the eccentric owner of a fly-infested diner, exceptionally stupid cops, young thugs who beat up “niggers” for the fun of it and a young woman who provocatively cools herself by standing nude at her window. When the murder is finally solved, Poitier and Steiger will part with reserve and distance, but with enormous respect for each other. Norman Jewison directed.

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One Comment

  1. This movie meant so much to Black people all over the country to see a strong, proud professional well dressed professional stand up against the ignorant racism of the Jim Crow south. Unfortunately we can still use more like him and this kind of movie to be an example of the dignity that should be given to all me while doing their jobs

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