In The Heat of The Night (film) - Production

Production

The film contains the famous scene in which Tibbs and Gillespie visit the home of Eric Endicott to question him, following Tibbs' discovery of trace evidence in the murder victim's car. Upon discovering that Tibbs is suggesting he murdered Colbert, Endicott slaps Tibbs. Tibbs slaps him back. Reportedly, Tibbs' action was originally omitted from the screenplay, which stayed true to the novel with Tibbs not reacting to the slap. However, when Sidney Poitier read the script he was purportedly uncomfortable with that reaction, as it wasn't true to the values his parents instilled in him. He requested that the producers alter the scene to Tibbs slapping Endicott back. This was important due to the ongoing battle for civil rights, which was still raging in 1967, despite the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This was one of the first times in any major motion picture where a black man reacted to provocation from a white man in such a way. Referring to the scene Poitier said, " was almost not there. I said, 'I'll tell you what, I'll make this movie for you if you give me your absolute guarantee when he slaps me I slap him right back and you guarantee that it will play in every version of this movie.' I try not to do things that are against nature. I stayed away from films that didn't speak well of my values. I could only say yes to films if I passed it by my dad. I passed it by my father because I did not want ever to make a film that would not reflect positively on my father's life."

However, Poitier's version of the story seems to be a bit of publicity fiction and is contradicted by Mark Harris in his meticulously researched book, Pictures at a Revolution. In the book Harris states that Stirling Silliphant's original draft contained both slaps, which is backed up by Jewison and Silliphant, and Harris states that copies of the original draft he obtained clearly contain the scene.

The film contains two classic lines read by Poitier. When Gillespie sarcastically asks Tibbs what they call him in Philadelphia, he snaps, "They call me Mister Tibbs." Later, having deduced that the murderer is diner counterman Ralph Henshaw (introduced killing flies in the first scene of the film) and not police officer Sam Wood, Tibbs says, "Sam couldn't have driven two cars." At the very end of the film, as Poitier is boarding a train to leave the town, the last lines are uttered by Steiger and sum the growth of their relationship, yet maintain the standard of the South. He said, "Virgil? You take care now, y'hear," words to give support to the budding civil rights movement, exemplifying that, with effort, racial divisions are capable of being overcome.

The film is also important for being the first major Hollywood film in color that was lit with proper consideration for a person of African descent. Haskell Wexler recognized that standard strong lighting used in filming tended produce too much glare on that kind of dark complexion and rendered the features indistinct. Accordingly, Wexler toned it down to feature Poitier with better photographic results.