Film
In the Heat of the Night
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.
Overview
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.
Cast
- Sidney PoitierDet. Virgil Tibbs
- Rod SteigerPolice Chief Bill Gillespie
- Warren OatesDeputy Sam Wood
- Lee GrantMrs. Leslie Colbert
- Larry GatesEric Endicott
- James PattersonMr. Purdy
- William SchallertMayor Schubert
- Beah RichardsMama Caleba
