Everyone wants their art to become iconic – there’s nothing quite as special as the moment in which your work becomes definitive of the particular art form, regardless of the specific area in which you operate. However, the challenge that comes with this kind of reputation is the tendency for the work to become so indicative of great quality and brilliance, the experience of seeing it may occasionally be disappointing, as too popular a reputation can sometimes be misleading. There are innumerable films that seem to follow this pattern, being hailed as generation-defining masterpieces, while in actuality, they’re nothing more than highly-competent works that are far from brilliant. One film that is entirely immune to this, and earns every bit of acclaim and adoration it has received is In the Heat of the Night, Norman Jewison’s seminal crime drama that touches on tender topics in a truly astonishing way. One of the few race-related films made during the Civil Rights Era that still maintains its quality and effectiveness over half a century later, it is a powerful exploration of identity and societal belief, carefully curated by a cast and crew of incredible artists, who approach this material with the sensitivity and restraint it requires, but also the unreluctant vigour it deserves. A masterful entry into numerous genres, In the Heat of the Night is a magnificent achievement and a film that has aged incredibly well, remaining as relevant today as it did when it was the revolutionary masterpiece that challenged viewers to change their perceptions.

A wealthy land-developer is killed just after moving to the small town of Sparta, Mississippi. The motive of the murder isn’t very clear, but he was likely killed for monetary reasons, as he had found his way to the town to build a new factory, which would bring more commerce into the region, but also take several jobs away from the hard-working folk that reside there. On the same evening that his body is found, a mysterious man named Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) is passing through – and being a stranger to these people is only worsened by the fact that he’s an African-American, currently in a town that has yet to adopt the more progressive mentality of their northern counterparts. It is soon discovered that Tibbs is a police officer who specializes in homicide, and to the chagrin of Chief Gillespie (Rod Steiger), he is persuaded to take on the case, working with the local law enforcement to find the victim’s killer. Tibbs has to navigate the close-minded views of the townspeople, most of which are not particularly enamoured with the idea of having their town investigated by a man that they have been institutionally led to believe as inferior. However, he’s a tenacious man, and his skills prove to overcome any societal boundary his skin finds him in, and he slowly works towards solving the mystery, alongside Gillespie, who is reluctant to have his jurisdiction impinged upon by a more uptight, straight-laced detective, whose insights are far greater than anything he could’ve imagined. The crime-fighting odd-couple gradually unearth the sinister mystery surrounding the murder and start to realize the true depth of this crime, which puts both of them to the test.

Intention is often the key to whether or not a film can be considered a success, and with In the Heat of the Night, it was clear that those involved weren’t simply seeking to make a great crime film. As a whole, once you remove the social overtures of this film, the premise isn’t all that remarkable – it is a traditional crime thriller insofar as it has quite a linear plot, and goes about solving the mystery without many unexpected twists, which is certainly not a weakness but isn’t the aspect of the film that lingers. Rather, where this film succeeds is in how it challenges audiences – produced during the most tumultuous period of the Civil Rights movement, this film is one that fundamentally operates through its intention to start a dialogue amongst audiences. Certainly not the socially-cohesive film that some may believe it to be, the controversy stirred by this film was entirely purposeful – Jewison was a director who perhaps didn’t seek to create situations in which the viewer was compromised into feeling some form of discomfort, he did have his moments of going against the grain and searching for the more vulnerable social message that underpins his stories. Working with the fascinating novel from which this film was based, and the exceptional screenplay by Sterling Silliphant, Jewison is able to delve deep into the fabric of societal issues in a way that may not have been inspired by the fury that lesser-known directors who were not getting the exposure at the time, despite making similarly-themed films, In the Heat of the Night functions as a film that invokes conversation – arguably some conversations mere heated than others, but certainly all valid, because as we’ve seen with many films that follow the intentions of commenting on certain real-world issues, the best way to evoke some change is by challenging the thought systems that govern society on the fundamentally human level.

However, even if we remove this more serious discourse, it’s clear that In the Heat of the Night is a terrific crime film on its own, the kind that was made as a response to the fledging film noir genre, which was already beyond its peak and only existed as a remnant at this point, only being revived with the neo-noir in the subsequent decades after this film was produced. A traditional mystery film that is more of a riveting procedural than a riveting, subversive thriller, In the Heat of the Night is a sophisticated affair, one that follows the familiar pattern without deviating too much into the territory in which the central plot is lost in favour of surprising the audience. There are certainly the expected twists that come with this kind of story, and the film was made before the concept of revealing the killer earlier on was vogue (as was the case with many New Hollywood films, of which this film is a pioneering work, albeit still being a bit premature to be fully considered a defining entry into that particular era of filmmaking, as there were still many elements that indicated more traditional concepts of the genre), which makes it a relatively simple film, albeit one that doesn’t need to be bombastic or audacious in order to be effective. The difference between this film and its predecessors, as we’ve mentioned, came in how Jewison supplemented this story with a more poignant tale of race and identity, which works in tandem with the straightforward nature of the premise to create something truly special.

At the forefront of In the Heat of the Night are two tremendous actors, both of which did some of their most interesting work in this film. Rod Steiger, a marvellous character actor that had been constantly in the shadow of his more prestigious co-stars, finally has the chance to prove himself as someone who can effectively lead a major film like this. As Chief Gillespie, he is exceptional – gruff and peppery, which still being endearing, there’s a certain sincerity to Steiger’s performance that separates this film the archetypal role of the racist who has a change of heart. Gillespie doesn’t particularly grow in his belief but develops a tolerance to the idea that he is infallible, just like everyone else, and that sometimes the best way to prove your worth is to understand your limits, whether they be your skills or your beliefs. This is sharply contrasted by Steiger’s co-star, Sidney Poitier, who was at his peak at this time, being one of Hollywood’s fiercest advocates for progressive issues, while still being a remarkable actor who carried himself with an ethereal elegance that no actor has been able to match. Poitier brings so much elegance to his roles, and in the part of Virgil Tibbs, he finds a fascinating bundle of eccentricities on which to base him – he’s not simply an all-knowing, intelligent outsider thrown into this small-town, where he outsmarts everyone, but rather a man with clear flaws and vices, which he overcomes through his fierce determination to solve a crime, one in which only the motive matters, rather than the many other overarching concepts that those around him hope to assert onto the case. Poitier proves why his reputation as one of the screen’s most magnetic stars was earned, as even with a relatively straightforward character as Tibbs, he brings grace and nuance, in a way very few actors ever could. It’s a dignified, powerful performance from an actor who could always captivate us, whether with the most complex monologue, or the most subtle expression. It’s gorgeous work from an actor who was simply relentless in his pursuit for a meaningful character, regardless of the confines of the film around him.

In the Heat of the Night is a truly remarkable piece of cinema – it assembles a fantastic cast, lead by the inimitable Sidney Poitier and wonderfully underrated Rod Steiger, and sets off to tell a compelling story of small-town murder and the various eccentric that occupy the strange location that our protagonist finds himself in. It goes far deeper than this, exploring the identity of many of these characters, and how their mentalities have been shaped by a relatively binary view of what qualifies as natural and what is against the principles they’ve been lead to believe as being sacrosanct. Beautifully-composed by a director who refuses to be exploitative in his pursuit of some of the more intense themes, and anchored by a powerfully poetic story of the intersections between race and social perspective, and how neither of these concepts is as stagnant as it would appear. This film earns every word of acclaim it’s received over the years, standing as a brilliant crime thriller that navigates the challenging narrative territory in its pursuit of something more poignant than we normally encounter with this kind of mystery drama. It is a timely piece, one that looks at issues that are thankfully not as troublesome now as they were then but are still very existent, still occupying a place in a society that should have been rid of these biases decades before. In the Heat of the Night is still exceptionally relevant, both as a piece of entertainment and as a meaningful look into identity politics and how we perceive each other. It’s a classic of crime cinema that is unwavering in its raw, honest brilliance and remains one of the finest entries into a broad, diverse genre that benefits from such an original approach to common material.