When African American detective Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) travels from Philadelphia to the rural South to visit his mother, he is falsely accused of murdering a rich white man shortly after arriving in town. After Tibbs' identity is established and he is cleared of the charges, the dead man's widow (Lee Grant) requests that he head up the murder investigation. After a rough start, Tibbs and racist police chief Bill Gillespie (Rod Steiger) put aside their differences and learn to work together to solve the crime. Directed by Norman Jewison. With Warren Oates and James Patterson. Categories: Drama, Mystery, Crime. Year: 1967.
James Patterson in In the Heat of the Night