by Julian Spivey

In 1964 Sidney Poitier became the first black person to win a best actor Academy Award for his role as Homer Smith in Lillies of the Field.

However, his best and probably most iconic role was detective Virgil Tibbs in Norman Jewison's 1967 Oscar-winning In the Heat of the Night.

Tibbs is a detective from Philadelphia who has come home to Sparta, Miss., to visit his mother.

At the film's beginning, as he is sitting at the Sparta train station, Deputy Sam Wood, played by character actor Warren Oates, brings Tibbs in for questioning about a man's death earlier that night. At the sheriff's office Tibbs meets police Chief Bill Gillespie, played by Rod Steiger.

Steiger won the best actor Oscar for his portrayal. Gillespie is in charge of an extremely racist southern town.

His first meeting with Tibbs is a volatile one.

Gillespie: "Well, you're pretty sure of yourself, ain't you, Virgil. Virgil, that's a funny name for a nigger boy to come from Philadelphia. What do they call you up there?"

Poitier responds with one of the most memorable and powerful lines in cinema history:

"They call me Mr. Tibbs!"

As the film goes on Tibbs and Gillespie learn to cooperate, if not actually get along with each other. The two band together in an effort to find out who committed the murder.

The film is an excellent story about the turbulent era and landscape of 1960s southern America.

It is also the story of two men, both fundamentally different, who come together for the greater good. The story rings just as true today as it did in 1967.

In addition to the film's cultural importance In the Heat of the Night is a good detective story. It is arguably Jewison's best directed film.

Jewison is well known for directing the critically acclaimed musicals Fiddler on the Roof (1971) and Jesus Christ Superstar (1973).

The excellent screenplay for In the Heat of the Night was written by Stirling Silliphant and based on a novel by John Ball.

In the Heat of the Night's greatness is definitely no fluke. The film beat classics such as Arthur Penn's Bonnie and Clyde and Mike Nichols' The Graduate for best picture.

It is ranked by the American Film Institute as the 75th greatest film of all time.

Two sequels, They Call Me Mister Tibbs and The Organization were later released but never measured up to the original success.

In 1988 the film was turned into a television series and was nominated for seven Golden Globes during its eight-season span.

The two things to pay close attention to when viewing In the Heat of the Night are the wonderful final scene when it becomes apparent Tibbs and Gillespie have ultimately become friends and the amazing theme song recorded by the legendary Ray Charles.