I really wanted to like this more. Poitier's star power, charisma, and magnetism on camera are unquestioned...or shouldn't be. And if you do, I will just shrug my shoulders and wonder if your eyes were opened when you watched him on screen. Without such an icon, the film certainly would have suffered. I can't really say this is the same incredible character as in "In the Heat of the Night" (and the comparisons will happen when you literally reference in him the second film's title) that broke ground and bravely challenged racial stereotypes and confronted racism in the South using the detective drama as a foray into the acting powerhouse that ignited between Poitier and Steiger. In San Francisco and with a wife and kids (who don't see him near enough), this Mr. Tibbs is quite different than the Philadelphia detective who arrives in Sparta, Mississippi, right into racial tensions and prejudices. And yet Mr. Tibbs, often quite isolated and alone in his investigation as he must find his way through the challenges facing him, eventually convinces the law that the diner cook is the criminal. In the rather blasé plot of "They Call Me Mr. Tibbs", Tibbs must try and keep the peace at home with some rather uncomfortable "tough love parenting" as his son "acts up" (hits his sister as the wife cuts through him for not seeming a bit more concerned and willing to give the boy more discipline accordingly) with a wife who takes him to task for keeping his attentions away from marriage and family while confronting a difficult case where his parish reverend at the church is a suspect in the murder of a "lady of the night", working out of a realty sublet apartment located in a tenement ran by a flashy pimp masquerading as a super (Anthony Zerbe, in what many might consider a miscasting, considering his attire and shades). The preacher is played by Martin Landau, looking to secure enough votes for Proposition 45, deeply involved in a community organizing project that would serve the kids he passionately represents. Landau was intimately involved with a prostitute found strangled in her room, with finger impressions and a necklace mark on her neck. The necklace that is missing comes to be the smoking gun, as another prostitute who is close to Zerbe is for whom it belongs. Poitier doesn't have that equally intense and powerful presence to share the screen with this go-around so it is all his movie. Landau isn't in this sequel a great deal except when Tibbs needs to follow up on the case and try to keep the preacher out of the news until the investigation is close to complete. Landau does have a solid acting showcase at the end when Tibbs confronts his Logan Sharpe at a church while votes are being tallied over the next 24 hours...good tears, desperation, and hurt that Tibbs is disappointed in him and must request he "come downtown". Zerbe becomes a nuisance to the investigation, even as he probably shouldn't have been, looking to hide away and keep silent a janitor who discovered the call girl's body not long after her murder. Zerbe is trying to protect his pimping practices, though, so his Weedon is always evasive and a pain when Tibbs visits him. And soon Ed Asner's realty agent (complete with full hair piece!) gets dragged into the investigation, prompting him to flee from police in a high speed pursuit that results in essentially his release. That happens throughout...suspects make matters worse for themselves than necessary. The car chase results in cars often having to get out of Asner's way or police vehicles crashing just to avoid him, ultimately ending, as expected, with his crash, careening offroad and upside down. The foot chase in San Francisco between Poitier and Zerbe is probably the action highlight. Fans of Dirty Harry films might enjoy some of this film, while those who loved "In the Heat of the Night" will be disappointed. But the sequel to that iconic film could never escape such an overwhelming shadow. And if the detective case was a bit more engaging, "They Call Me Mr. Tibbs" might could at least be considered a recommended cop drama. I was never a fan of the technique where actors look directly into the camera as if questioning or conversing with us and that happens a lot in the sequel. Poitier fans will perhaps at least find value in his significant presence. He's one hell of an actor, so the film gets as much mileage it can from his involvement.
Review of They Call Me Mister Tibbs!
