“Virgil - that’s a funny name for a nigra boy from Philadelphia. What do they call you up there?” Police Chief Gillespie

“They call me MR. TIBBS!” Detective Virgil Tibbs

Actor Rod Steiger passed away yesterday, July 9, 2002 at age 77. Out of a long career of memorable and often volatile performances, Steiger managed to win the Best Actor Academy Award for the role of Police Chief Gillespie in In the Heat of the Night, a story of a small town in Mississippi.

Bill Gillespie is the Chief of Police in Sparta - merely a wide spot in the road in the deep South in America‘s racially charged ‘60s.

The gum chewing, cocked policeman’s cap caricature that is Chief Gillespie is reminiscent of Sheriff Andy Taylor, for those of you who remember the old Andy Griffith Show, and his right hand man Sam Wood (Warren Oates) is reminiscent of Deputy Barney Fife. Officer Wood’s idea of patrolling is to sneak up on a certain young lady’s house during the sweltering summer nights and watch her disrobe through the window. We learn through later developments that Sam and the lady had a tryst in the town cemetery among the cool marble slabs. “Damn, he did that?” blurts Gillespie with barely concealed admiration.

This night is different as Sam, cursing his luck at not finding pie at the diner, finds a body instead during his patrol. The corpse is a wealthy businessman who was going to build a factory in Sparta, providing 500 or so badly needed jobs. The chief sends Sam out to find the murderer. He sees Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) waiting for the late train out of town. A black man leaving town is obviously guilty so Sam frisks him and runs him in.

Tibbs claims to be a police officer. When things are sorted out, Tibbs is cleared but the widow of the deceased, not trusting the slipshod police work of the Sparta police, demands that Detective Tibbs stay and investigate or else she’ll not build the factory. The mayor (William Schallert) prevails on the chief’s better judgment to get Tibbs on the job and a phone call to Tibbs’ boss in Philadelphia gets him detailed to help out the rural fuzz…

Through Tibbs’ professional approach to the investigation, Gillespie begins to admire and even like him. The investigation aside, this film is more about how these two men come to terms with their preconceived ideas and are big enough to overcome them and come to a mutual understanding despite the unfavorable environment.

By the time the film is ending, the men’s attitudes have changed to the point that Gillespie is carrying Tibbs’ bag for him as he heads for the train. Quite a shocking sight in the south of 1967.

Director Norman Jewison is known for message filmmaking. One trouble with films with a message is that the message is often untimely and soon appears dated and trite. In the Heat of the Night does not have this defect, appearing as timely and powerful today as it was 35 years ago. Jewison developed the characters of all the players, both major and minor. The photography and sets are very reminiscent of the rural south. It had to be shot in Illinois and Tennessee due to the volatility of the subject matter. Quincy Jones scored the film and wrote the memorable title song, which was sung by Ray Charles.

Rod Steiger won the Academy Award for his portrayal of Chief Gillespie, but Sidney Poitier’s performance was just as powerful. In all In the Heat of the Night claimed five Oscars, including Best Picture of 1967 against competition like The Graduate and Bonnie and Clyde. Steiger’s Best Actor Oscar beat out the likes of Spencer Tracy, Paul Newman, Warren Beatty, and Dustin Hoffman - quite an eloquent epitaph for an actor that will be missed.

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