Cinema 123
Film Summary: In the Heat of the Night
Philip Colbert, a wealthy man from Chicago who was planning to build a factory in the rural town of Sparta, Mississippi, is found murdered. Police Chief Bill Gillespie comes under pressure to quickly find his killer. African-American northerner Virgil Tibbs, passing through, is picked up at the train station between trains by a racist policeman who finds him with a substantial amount of cash in his wallet. Gillespie, heavily prejudiced against blacks, jumps to the conclusion he has his culprit but is embarrassed to learn that Tibbs is a respected Philadelphia homicide detective who had been visiting his mother. After the racist treatment he receives, Tibbs wants nothing more than to leave as quickly as possible, but his captain recommends he stay and help. The victim's widow, already frustrated by the ineptitude of the local police, is impressed by Tibbs' expert ability when he clears another wrongly-accused suspect Gillespie has arrested on flimsy evidence. She threatens to stop construction on the much-needed factory unless he leads the investigation. Unwilling to accept help but under orders from the town's mayor, Gillespie talks Tibbs into lending his services. Despite the rocky start to their relationship, the two policemen come to respect each other as they are forced to work together to solve the crime. Tibbs initially suspects wealthy plantation owner Eric Endicott, who opposed the new factory. When he attempts to interrogate Endicott about Colbert, Endicott slaps him in the face. Tibbs slaps him back, which leads to Endicott sending a gang of redneck hooligans after Tibbs. Gillespie rescues him from the fight and orders him to leave town for his own safety. Tibbs refuses to leave until he has solved the case. Tibbs asks Sam Wood, the officer who discovered the body, to retrace his steps the night of the murder. He and Gillespie accompany Sam on his patrol route, stopping at a diner where the counterman, Ralph Henshaw, refuses to serve Tibbs because he is black. When Tibbs notices that Sam has deliberately changed his route, Gillespie begins to suspect Sam of the crime. When he discovers that Sam made a sizable deposit into his bank account the day after the murder (which Sam claims is gambling winnings) and Lloyd Purdy, a local, files charges against Sam