IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (1967) | FIRST TIME WATCHING | MOVIE REACTION

A black man in 1960s Mississippi didn't have any rights. That's part of the power of this movie.

Its hard for younger people to understand how monumental this movie was. This was one of the 5 most important films of the 20th century for its social impact.

The scene of Poitier slapping that white man was considered profoundly shocking when this movie came out.

"I've got the motive which is money, and the body which is dead!" Rod Steiger's line read on that is so perfect

The word "classic" gets thrown around a lot. This one deserves it.

"They call me Mr. Tibbs!" That line right there is a powerhouse! He is saying "You WILL respect me!"

It is hard today to imagine the hubbub this movie caused when it came out. Sidney Poitier was one of the main actors to "break" the racial boundary for black leading men.

"They call me Mr Tibbs!" Definitely one of Sidney Poitier's best performances. Please react to "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" or "Lilies of the Field", if you haven't already.

"They can't hold him." It was the South, and Black people didn't have the rights of a squirrel. This was a terrific film that spawned a sequel. Unrelated, a really good spy film from the 70's starring Robert Redford is 'Three Days of the Condor'.

This was filmed next to my home town in Southern Illinois. I was present when they filmed the chase scene at the bridge. There were those of us who wanted to end racism and a lot of people who wanted it to continue. I think the acting was incredible in this movie bringing out the complex nature of human interactions.

The widow is played by Lee Grant. Ironically, today is her 98th birthday.

Winner of 5 Oscars including Best Picture. Rod Steiger plays the racist sheriff with a heart of gold, whom despises Virgil Tibbs, but learns to respect him. They even did a TV series based on the movie, it ran from 1988-1992 on NBC and the final seasons ran on CBS from 1992-1995. Also, the moment Virgil Tibbs slapped Endicott is a seminal moment in cinema history. Rod Steiger won the Oscar, but Sidney Poitier deserved one too even though he already had one.

"They call Mr Tibbs" is only one line but it brings me close to tears every time. Sidney Poitier manages to show decades of anger, hurt and mistreatment in one line and a few facial expressions. This is easily one of my favourite acting performances of all time.

This movie was so popular that it later spawned a TV series (of the same name) that ran for 8 seasons from 1988-1995 starring Carroll O'Connor (Archie Bunker from All In The Family) as Chief Bill Gillespie & Howard Rollins (George Haley from Roots: The Next Generation) as Det. Virgil Tibbs (and the show even got several TV movies of its own as well)....it is definitely worth watching as well in my opinion.

"to sir with love" is one of his best films

Sidney Poitier was a talent like no other. There's nothing he could have been BUT a leading man. Not only was he exceptionally talented and very good looking, he had a presence that commanded the viewers' attention whenever he appeared on screen. A great example of this was 1955's "Blackboard Jungle" (in a way, the original hero teacher movie), where Poitier dominates every scene he is in, despite the fact that he is not the main character. Glenn Ford plays the main character and even Vic Morrow is the most prominent of the student characters.

You made the right choice. This film and Poitier's character had a real impact on the public consciousness during the civil rights era. "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" is another similarly important film with Poitier, Katharine Hepburn, and Spencer Tracy. The line "They call me Mr. Tibbs!" had an impact that's hard to appreciate today.

In the Heat of the Night is one of the best neo-noir mystery films ever with outstanding performances from Rod Steiger and Sidney Poitier. Director Norman Jewison would return to the murder mystery genre two decades later with A Soldier's Story in 1984, featuring a young Denzel Washington in his second film role.

Sidney Poitier was the first break-through black actor to play the lead character - including Guess Who's Coming To Dinner and Lilies Of The Field.

Movie Trivia: The actress that plays the wife of the murdered man is Lee Grant. She is still alive and in her late 90’s.