“I feel truly privileged to be associated with, for my money, one of the most important and influential films ever to confront and highlight rampant racism in 1960s America, especially with a black actor in the leading role."
- Norman Jay MBE
A redneck sheriff (Rod Steiger) and a black Philadelphia homicide detective (Sidney Poitier) reluctantly team up on a small-town murder investigation in Norman Jewison's Oscar®-winning crime drama.
Winner of five Oscars®, In the Heat of the Night is one of veteran director Norman Jewison's (The Thomas Crown Affair, Fiddler on the Roof) most celebrated films. When a wealthy industrialist in a small Mississippi town turns up dead, local sheriff Bill Gillespie (Rod Steiger) orders a dragnet which pulls in black Philadelphia detective Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier), who winds up working on the case. Placing its mystery plot against a scorching condemnation of American race prejudice, it also wittily turns the tables on the racist clichés of American cinema, with the black man out-thinking his white counterpart every step of the way.
Beautifully shot and with a great supporting cast, the film remains a landmark of cinema - and Poitier excels in a role that would cement his position as the pre-eminent black actor of his generation.
Presented by Come the Revolution and Ujima Radioas part of
These events are supported by Film Hub South West & West Midlands, part of the Film Audience Network, awarding funds from the National Lottery.