“THEY CALL ME MISTER TIBBS!”
IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT is a great film, more than worthy of its Best Picture win. Sydney Poiter plays Virgil Tibbs, a man initially accused of murder in a sleepy Mississippi town, but then drafted in to solve the murder when the racist local police force finds out he’s a detective himself.
It’s essentially a whodunnit, yet one that traverses the still-delicate issue of race in the southern states. For context, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated some nine months after this film was released – so it comes smack-bang in the middle of the civil rights movement.
As well as Best Picture, the film snagged Oscars for Best Actor (Rod Steiger), Best Screenplay, Best Editing (by future director Hal Ashby) and Best Sound.
A young Warren Oates and Scott Wilson are standouts among Poitier and Steiger as the two leads. The other star is the soundtrack – composed by conducted by Quincy Jones, and featuring Ray Charles, Billy Preston and Glen Campbell.
Alongside Charles’ title track, and Jones’ original jazz/blues-inflected score, are a couple of other standout vocal tracks worthy of a listen: Glen Campbell’s Bow-Legged Polly, Boomer & Travis’ Foul Owl and Gil Bernal’s It Sure Is Groovy!.
Hit: In The Heat Of The Night – Ray Charles
Hidden Gem: Peep-Freak Patrol Car
Feliciano!, José’s 1968 collection of rock and pop covers, in great condition, for the princely sum of fifty cents? Yes please!
Vinyl Stylus 