In the Heat of the Night: Difference between revisions
Added wikilink
m (trope=>work) |
(Added wikilink) |
||
| (20 intermediate revisions by 5 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{work}}{{cleanup|This page mixes the novel, the film and the television series into a single entry. Each work should get its own page and this page should become a disambiguation between them.}}
[[File:pk_obit_steiger_b_w_806.jpg|frame]]
{{quote|'''[[They Call Me Mister Tibbs|"They call me Mister Tibbs!"]]'''|Det.Virgil Tibbs}}
A 1965 novel by John Ball, '''''In
On his way back home after visiting his mother, Black [[Philadelphia (useful notes)|Philadelphian]] Virgil Tibbs (Poitier) is arrested on suspicion of the murder of a prominent factory owner in Sparta, Mississippi. In his one phone conversation, he reveals that he's actually a homicide detective back 'up North', and is told by his superiors that he should assist the locals in solving the case -- partnered with the casually racist Police Chief Bill Gillespie (Steiger). It's a rocky start to the partnership, but the more Tibbs displays his detective prowess, the more Gillespie comes to respect him. Working together, and fighting together against the truly rabid racism of some of the local rednecks, they solve the case.
The TV series picks up twenty years on with a newly-married Virgil Tibbs moving to Sparta after his mother's death. Turns out that at her funeral he was signed on as Chief of [nonexistent] Detectives by the town's opportunistic mayor. It's the 'New South', and everyone's anxious to seem racially progressive. Except, initially at least, Gillespie and his new -- not to say considerably younger and hunkier -- squad of flatfoots. Also, of course, several dozen bad guys. Ran six seasons. It was kept interesting by brilliant casting choices Carroll O'Connor and Howard Rollins.
{{tropenamer}}
* [[Back-Alley Doctor]]: Mama Caleba, the town abortionist.
* [[Book Ends]]: Virgil arriving in town by train, Virgil leaving town by train.
Line 20 ⟶ 21:
* [[Don't You Dare Pity Me!]]: Gillespie - seriously, don't, he gets ''scary''.
* [[Heat Wave]]: In the movie. It's summer in Mississippi, after all.
* [[The Jimmy Hart Version]]: Jewison wanted the song on the jukebox to be "Li'l Red Riding Hood" by Sam The Sham & The Pharoahs, but they couldn't get the rights (licensing pop songs for movies was almost unheard of in 1967), so the film's composers (Quincy Jones, Alan & Marilyn Bergman) wrote the new but very similar "Foul Owl On The Prowl" for the diner scene.▼
* [["London, England" Syndrome]]: When they first meet, Tibbs tells Gillespie he's from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ''not'' Philadelphia, Mississippi.
* [[Noble Bigot
** Tibbs briefly slips into this territory for a moment as well, enraged from being slapped by a plantation owner:
{{quote|
''Gillespie:'' "Oh boy... Man, you're [[Not So Different|just like the rest of us]], ain't ya?" }}
* [[Odd Couple]]: Gillespie and Tibbs.
Line 29 ⟶ 31:
** However, it's explained that Sparta hadn't had a murder in ages, and the small-town tactics they employ doesn't cover the severity of the case. Gillespie is competent in things like chasing down suspects, but figuring out a murder requires the forensics skills that Tibbs know by heart.
* [[Pragmatic Adaptation]]: The novel's Mr. Tibbs was a polite, non-confrontational African American; the film's Mr. Tibbs, on the other hand, is much more assertive towards the bigots around him.
* [[Punctuated!
* [[Red Herring]]: {{spoiler|The racially charged environment had nothing to do with the murder. It was just a mugging gone wrong.}}
* [[Salt and Pepper]]: Gillespie and Tibbs, again.
▲* [[The Jimmy Hart Version]]: Jewison wanted the song on the jukebox to be "Li'l Red Riding Hood" by Sam The Sham & The Pharoahs, but they couldn't get the rights (licensing pop songs for movies was almost unheard of in 1967), so the film's composers (Quincy Jones, Alan & Marilyn Bergman) wrote the new but very similar "Foul Owl On The Prowl" for the diner scene.
▲* [[They Call Me Mister Tibbs]]: The [[Trope Namer]].
▲=== The Show Contains Examples of: ===
* [[California Doubling]]: The TV series was still set in Mississippi, but was filmed in Louisiana for the first season, and then in Covington, Georgia for seasons 2-6.
* [[Calling the Hero Out]]: Gillespie ([[All in The Family|Carroll O' Connor]]) has to pull Tibbs ([[Roots|Howard Rollins]]) off of a man after said man messes with Tibbs' wife Althea ([[That's So Raven|Anna Marie Johnson]]).
* [[Chase Scene]]: Bordering on [[Once an Episode]], to the extent where it's cheerfully [[Lampshaded]] in later seasons.
* [[Rape
* [[Real Life Writes the Plot]]: An unfortunate series of interruptions in both leads' careers -- O'Connor's heart surgery, Rollins' struggles with addiction -- led to one or the other of their characters frequently being away at 'conventions' or 'seminars'.
* [[Recycled:
{{reflist}}
{{Academy Award Best Picture}}
{{Golden Globe Award Best Motion Picture Drama}}
{{AFI's 100 Years 100 Heroes and Villains}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:The Criterion Collection]]
[[Category:Films Based on Novels]]
[[Category:Films of the 1960s]]
[[Category:Mystery and Detective Films]]
[[Category:National Film Registry]]
[[Category:
[[Category:American Series]]
[[Category:
| |||