

In the Heat of the Night
They got a murder on their hands. They don’t know what to do with it.
African-American Philadelphia police detective Virgil Tibbs is arrested on suspicion of murder by Bill Gillespie, the racist police chief of tiny Sparta, Mississippi. After Tibbs proves not only his own innocence but that of another man, he joins forces with Gillespie to track down the real killer. Their investigation takes them through every social level of the town, with Tibbs making enemies as well as unlikely friends as he hunts for the truth.
TMDB
7.7/10
1,312 votes
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- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $2M
- Box office
- $27.4M
- Language
- English
- small town
- southern usa
- police chief
- stolen money
- racial segregation
- racist
- thief
- murder
- youth gang
- racism
- whodunit
- poverty
Top billed cast
















Behind the camera
Director
Writers
Music
Produced in
United States of America
Where to watch
All optionsAvailability for India. Provided by JustWatch through the TMDB API.
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Videos
Release dates
United StatesUS
- TheatricalPG-132 Aug 1967
United KingdomGB
- PremiereLondon24 Aug 1967
- Theatrical121 Sept 1967
- TheatricalRe-release18 Nov 2016
United Arab EmiratesAE
- TV19 Jun 2010
AustraliaAU
- Theatrical1 Mar 1968
- PhysicalM1 Jan 1985
CanadaCA
- Theatrical18A18 Aug 1967
ArgentinaAR
- Theatrical25 Oct 1967
AustriaAT
- Theatrical15 Mar 1968
BelgiumBE
- Theatrical1821 Mar 1968
BrazilBR
- Theatrical1230 Oct 1967
DenmarkDK
- Theatrical3 May 1968
FinlandFI
- TheatricalK-164 Apr 1968
FranceFR
- Theatrical1 Mar 1968
- TheatricalRe-release9 May 2012
Frequently asked questions
In the Heat of the Night was released on 2 August 1967.
Audience reviews
2- G10/10
GenerationofSwine
1/11/2023
I have a love/hate thing for how this ended. It looked good but it was too dark... visually. I think they were going for a source lighting thing and failed a bit. It was realistically dark but not Hollywood viewer in mind dark. Anyway the bad is out of the way, the good is the performance, it was really Oscar worthy in the truest sense, and the evolution of both the lead character and the supporting cast right …
- C7/10
CinemaSerf
5/22/2023
Warren Oates ("Wood") steps from his patrol car in the quiet town of Sparta and discovers the body of "Colbert" - a controversial local employer. Shortly afterwards he discovers "TIbbs" (Sidney Poitier) sitting waiting for the 4.05 train. He is black and there is a wealthy white murder victim on the street - ergo, two and two... Next thing, though, the police chief "Gillespie" (Rod Steiger) is interrogating their vis…
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