Page

In the Heat of the Night

❚ We may earn commission from links on this page. Our editorial is always independent (learn more).

Watch trailer

02:45

In the Heat of the Night

Save

Summary

Oscar-winning crime drama starring Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger. In a small southern town a black stranger is arrested for the murder of a rich industrialist. The bigoted police chief subjects him to an interrogation, only to discover that his suspect is a top homicide cop from Philadelphia.

Ad

Powered By

IMDB

Review

A star rating of 5 out of 5.

Adrian Turner

Winner of five Oscars, including best picture, this powerhouse drama about racial tension in the Deep South was released at the height of the civil rights movement and a year before the assassination of Martin Luther King. Sidney Poitier plays the immaculately dressed Philadelphia cop who is wrongly arrested for murder while changing trains in a small town in Mississippi. His situation is made worse by the fact that the police department is run by Rod Steiger's bigoted police chief. The plot is a set-up, a stacked deck, yet the atmosphere is palpably unpleasant, and Poitier and Steiger have a field day. A major movie for its time, it spawned two further films and a TV series featuring Poitier's character.

imdb-square

7.9/10

How to watch

Loading

Streaming

Credits

Cast

rolenameVirgil TibbsSidney PoitierBill GillespieRod SteigerSam WoodWarren OatesMrs Leslie ColbertLee GrantHarvey OberstScott WilsonDelores PurdyQuentin DeanWebb SchubertWilliam SchallertMama Caleba aka Mrs BellamyBeah RichardsPacky HarrisonMatt ClarkRalph HenshawAnthony JamesEndicottLarry GatesPurdyJames Patterson (1)Philip ColbertJack Teter

Show more

Crew

rolenameDirectorNorman Jewison

Details

Theatrical distributor

United Artists Corp. Ltd

Released on

1967-09-01

Languages

English

Guidance

Contains violence and swearing.

Available on

video, DVD and Blu-ray

Formats

Colour

News & features about In the Heat of the Night

Ad

Ad

Ad