Released in the summer of 1967, shortly after race riots in Newark, NJ, and Detroit, In the Heat of the Night galvanized racial tensions in the United States as few films had done previously. Not only did the film score at the box office with an African-American actor in the leading role, but also it was one of the first to depict an African-American character who refused to back down in the face of racism. Winner of five Academy Awards, including for best picture, this film is one of the most enduring Hollywood films of the civil rights era.

Passing through the backwoods town of Sparta, Mississippi, Philadelphia detective Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) becomes embroiled in a murder case. He forms an uneasy alliance with the bigoted police chief (Rod Steiger), who faces mounting pressure from Sparta’s hostile citizens to catch the killer and run the African American interloper out of town.

Reviews

"The two stars play their roles to the hilt. You don't feel they are trying to surpass each other. Rather, it seems Steiger and Poitier are acting together like a team, each with his eye on the ball every second and not missing a single chance to score." – Boston Globe

"This is an uncommonly alive little thriller, knowing just what it wants to do and doing it well." – Sight and Sound