Plot
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.
Cast
Sidney Poitier
Det. Virgil Tibbs
Rod Steiger
Police Chief Bill Gillespie
Warren Oates
Deputy Sam Wood
Lee Grant
Mrs. Leslie Colbert
Larry Gates
Eric Endicott
James Patterson
Mr. Purdy
William Schallert
Mayor Schubert
Beah Richards
Mama Caleba
Peter Whitney
Deputy Courtney
Kermit Murdock
Henderson
Larry D. Mann
Watkins
Matt Clark
Packy Harrison
Crew
Walter Mirisch
Producer
Quincy Jones
Original Music Composer
Haskell Wexler
Director of Photography
Norman Jewison
Director
Stirling Silliphant
Screenplay
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