First off, just to get it off my chest, every small town head law enforcement person is not a sheriff. I don't understand nor will I ever understand why so many people cannot make this very simple and straight forward distinction. Heck, even the television show based on the movie just HAD to put Stetsons on the Police because they figured, "Police and CHIEF have already been established, we HAVE to do SOMETHING to show they're actually all sheriffs!" Stupid, plain and simple. An easy concept for intelligent people to grasp, they are NOT all sheriffs.
Whew. Sorry. It's always eaten at me and even though I know my tirade won't wake up the lethargic, I feel better venting....again.
But enough of my bellyaching.
This movie stands out as one of the all time classic films on a few levels. For one, it's and examination about race relations, not just in the south, but in general and how, even if you're not trying, you just might see that the bottom line is, we're all just people. There are good, there are bad, there are misunderstood and what color your skin happens to be, is totally irrelevant. Of course, all of the bad people in this happen to be white, but it's the circumstances under which the film takes. We see the transformation of some folks once they see Virgil Tibbs for who he is, not what he is. It's always good to watch when someone is enlightened, even a little.
This movie is also a decent murder mystery. I grant you, not really the focus, but the compelling main plot IS the mystery of who the killer is and why he/she did it. The racial stuff is a dynamic sub-plot. Or is it the other way around? Hmmmm.
It's also a very interesting character study. CHIEF Gillespie is shown to be clearly a complicated man who, though he wants to do the right thing, feels the need to prove himself even more so. He has a difficult time with being wrong or second guessed and yet, you see him occasionally second guessing himself and questioning his, or should I say the values of all around him.
Tibbs is shown to be a good and righteous man who, as Gillespie points out, is deep down, "...just like the rest of us." in that he seems fixated on 'taking that fat cat off this hill.' Tibbs has convicted Endicott prior to even proving that Endicott actually did it. Just has Gillespie has done with others. The exchange outside of Endicott's house between Gillespie and Tibbs is priceless and the look on Tibbs' face when reality is thrown at him is extremely telling. And this exchange is one of the highlights of the film, and there are plenty others.
The acting is outstanding. Each and every character is pretty much flawless, the weakest acting link (for me, anyway) was Quentin Dean as Delores. She didn't get LOTS of acting jobs after this, so I'm guessing I'm correct in my belief she was not great actress. It's unfortunate that she passed on at 58 years of age. She wasn't that bad. And of course, it's simply sad she passed at a relatively young age.
But Rod Steiger and Sydney Poitier are two of the best, hands down. Warren Oates, never seemed to be acting, just actually being that person he was portraying, who always seemed to be like Warren Oates! The entire cast carries this without effort. I won't name them all, too many great performances to try.
The dialogue is well written as well, VERY well written.
Now for a little more nitpicking, sorry, it's in my blood. Though they may nor may not be spoilers, I feel better saying they are.
First off, as much an expert as Tibbs is, it's amazing he knows everything about everything. Fern root? He knows all there is to know about Fern Root? Whew, there was a stroke of luck. No doubt fern root is a major factor in many of the cases he worked in Philadelphia! LMAO.
I was amazed that the FBI could get the package, examine it and get it back to Mississippi within 24 hours, especially in 1967. REALLY? Why did Federal Express even need to be established? I'll close here. This movie is timeless, not 'dated'. It takes place when it takes place and when it takes place was a tough time for America for so many reasons, not that today is a walk in the park. But we see people for who they were then, and how some are now. Not all good people are white or black; nor are all bad people. (I'm not ignoring any other group, but this movie doesn't address any other groups, please hold off on any complaints about my lack of inclusiveness. Thank you.)
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