"In the Heat of the Night" is the September Classic Movie Shown in Bigfork

The Classic Movie Series this year starts with a mystery drama from 1967, “In the Heat of the Night,” staring Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger. It is about a black Philadelphia police detective who becomes involved in a murder investigation in a small town in Mississippi. The film won five Oscars in 1967 including the year’s Best Picture award. It is so good that it was followed up by two sequels and a TV series with the same name. It is worth seeing, if for no other reason, to find out what all the excitement was about. Great stars, great time period and great drama: that’s makes a great combination. With lots of racist implications, a false arrest, and a good plot you will find out why the movie richly deserved those five Oscars. This September Movie Classic will be shown at the Edge Theatre in Bigfork by Jack Nachbar. It will be accompanied by Jack’s presentation providing a better understanding of the time period of the movie.  Date: Thursday September 13^th. Time: 6:30PM. Price: FREE of charge.

The murder suspect is a black man found and arrested at the railway station. Probably sounded logical to the Sparta police, but they quickly discover he is a detective from Chicago.  Oops.  Not only that, the murder seemed to take place in the building site of a new, and, important to the town, factory being built by the murdered man. The widow is not happy about the local police and threatens to stop construction.  It is a good plot based on a 1965 novel of the same name. When you come to see it, keep in mind that Sidney’s line “They call me Mister Tibbs,” ended up being named #16  Most Memorable Movie Quote of all time by the American Film Institute.  

1967 was a bad time in America to be black, Sidney Poitier would not work in the south because he and Harry Belafonte were almost killed by the KKK during an earlier visit to Mississippi. That’s how Sparta Illinois got the work, not Mississippi. Just a few days of location shooting in Tennessee once again put Poitier under threat.

Sir Sidney Poitier (February 20, 1927) is Bahamian-American and an accomplished actor, film director and diplomat. It is hard to pick a “Best" of his Films from his list of 52 films. This movie is number 27 on his career list. He was the first Bahamian and first black actor to win an Oscar. He has some 19 awards.  I suspect receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama in 2009 ranks way up on his list with along being Knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1974.

Rod Steiger (1925-2002) made his mark on the film world by playing “off beat’ kind of crazy characters that were ready to fly off the handle.  He was associated with “Method Acting” to the point that it often caused verbal exchanges with directors and such during filming. That explains why his work is so often  realistic. But it was very good for “In the Heat of the Night."  In this case he was so so good that he won the best actor Oscar. That might be reason enough to see the movie all by it self. He was asked by the director to chew gum during his scenes, which Rod did not particularly like, but doing as directed, he learned to like it so much he went through 263 packs of gum during the shooting.  Now that’s dedication. Wonder what his dentist thought of the idea? Interestingly his co-star in this movie Sidney Poitier thought Steiger and  Spencer Tracy were the best actors he ever encountered.  

A great movie from an award winning book that spawned two film sequels and a TV series. That most likely means there is something special on the big screen in Bigfork in September.  The classic Movie Series is part of the District 318 Adult Education program.  Come and see a mystery thriller that will make you think.  Place: The Edge Center for the Arts, Bigfork. Date and time: Thursday September 13^th at 6:30PM. It will be worth going to Bigfork, because Jack will provide you with background about the movie and a cartoon of the period. An appropriate snack will be served courtesy of Jack and his wife/projectionist, Lynn.