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 13th. 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 13th 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.