“No deep solutions are suggested in this subtle and meticulously observed study. Yet Director Norman Jewison has used his camera to extract a cer tain rough-cut beauty from each protagonist.”
Small-town Mississippi sheriff Gillespie (Steiger) is forced to collaborate on a murder investigation with Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier), a Black homicide detective from Philadelphia who was initially mistaken for a suspect based on the colour of his skin. At first, the pair find themselves totally at odds with each other, but as the investigation proceeds they each learn to respect one another's talents. A defining film of the 1960s, it won five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor (Steiger).
