In the Heat of the Night (1967)

Regisseur:

Norman Jewison

Drehbuchautoren:

John Ball (novel)
Stirling Silliphant (writer)

Premierendatum:

26. Februar 1968 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Krimi

Werbezeile:

They got a murder on their hands . . . they don't know what to do with it.

Plot:

An African American detective is asked to investigate a murder in a racist southern town.

Plot Keywords:

Female Nudity | Small Town Life | South | Racial Prejudice | Racial Issues

Filmpreise:

Won 5 Oscars. Another 15 wins & 12 nominations

Nutzerkommentare:

The Perfect American Murder Mystery

Besetzung

Sidney Poitier	...	Det. Virgil Tibbs
Rod Steiger	...	Police Chief Bill Gillespie
Warren Oates	...	Off. Sam Wood
Lee Grant	...	Mrs. Leslie Colbert
Larry Gates	...	Eric Endicott
James Patterson	...	Purdy (Delores' brother)
William Schallert	...	Mayor Webb Schubert
Beah Richards	...	Mama Caleba, aka Mrs. Bellamy
Peter Whitney	...	Off. George Courtney
Kermit Murdock	...	H.E. Henderson (banker)
Larry D. Mann	...	Watkins
Arthur Malet	...	Ted Ulam (mortician)
Fred Stewart	...	Dr. Stuart
Quentin Dean	...	Delores Purdy
Scott Wilson	...	Harvey Oberst (murder suspect)

Alternativ:

In der Hitze der Nacht (Österreich) (Deutsche Demokratische Republik) (Bundesrepublik Deutschland) [de]

Länge:

109 Min

Produktionsland:

USA

Sprache:

Englisch

Farbe:

Farbe

Seitenverhältnis:

1.85 : 1

Tonverfahren:

Mono

Altersfreigabe:

Brazil:12 | South Africa:(Banned) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Australia:M | Iceland:16 | Argentina:13 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1968) | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:12 | USA:Approved | West Germany:12

Drehorte:

Belleville, Illinois, USA

Firma:

Mirisch Corporation, The

Dies und das:

Set in a hot Mississippi summer but filmed during Autumn in Illinois, many of the actors had to keep ice chips in their mouths (and spit them out before takes) to prevent their breath from appearing on camera during the night scenes.

Pannen:

Geographische Fehler: The town of Sparta is in east-central Mississippi. The Mississippi River forms the western border for most of that state. If Harvey Oberst (the fugitive being chased early in the film) made it as far as a bridge to Arkansas, he would have been at least 100 miles out of the jurisdiction of the Sparta police (who catch him). Even if, unbeknownst to the audience, the Sparta police had been deputized by some other jurisdiction, it's doubtful that they could have brought him back to the Sparta jail in the time frame presented.

Dialogzitate:

[first lines]
Ofcr. Sam Wood: Where you keeping the pie tonight?
Ralph Henshaw, diner counterman: I ate the last piece just before you came in.

Bezüge zu anderen Titeln:

Ausschnittsweise enthalten in "SexTV: Shafted: The Story of Blaxploitation Cinema (#8.18)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

It sure is groovy!

The Perfect American Murder Mystery

Rod Steiger won best actor, deserved it, and was matched eyebrow for eyebrow by Sidney Poitier's Unforgettable Creation of Mr. Virgil Tibbs, police detective. The supporting cast is perfect, with Beah Richards, William Prince, and Scott Wilson as special standouts. The dialogue by Siliphant is crisply written, the direction by Jewison is non-pareil, and the mystery is difficult and resolves things perfectly. As an overall American mystery, I must vote for this even over the Maltese Falcon (which of course is also great). Forget the hit-and-miss TV spin-off and treat yourself to the real thing.