Mickey Micklon While investigating a corporate break-in, San Francisco Police Detective "Virgil Tibbs" (Sidney Portier) discovers that the suspects are in reality a group of revolutionaries bent on destroying a drug cartel known as "The Organization." Without permission from his superiors, "Tibbs" begins to work with the revolutionaries. They work their own ways, "Tibbs" working within police regulations, but still together.This is a pretty well written movie, but with some slight flaws in performances. The pacing of the movie is slow, but well paced.The stand out performance is easily Portier. This is the third movie where he portrays "Tibbs," of which he is probably best known for. He plays "Tibbs" two ways in the film. First, he plays the cop. You actually believe that he is a veteran on the police force. "Tibbs" passion is his work, and Portier makes you believe it. He also plays "Tibbs" as a family man who obviously loves his family. We don't get to see a lot of this side of the character since the focus is on the case he is on.One problem with this movie is that the supporting characters is poorly presented. There is little to no development in the revolutionaries, and we don't get to see much of "The Organization" beyond the hired guns. I was also unimpressed with their on-screen chemistry with each other. Not one really stood out if you ask me. In fact, I felt that these characters would fit better in an early-1970's television series than in a major motion picture.When it comes to the soundtrack, it's typical 1970's movie music. Not one piece is memorable. However, some pieces of music was used quite well in scenes.The action is pretty toned down in this film, probably because of the time it was filmed. You get a lot of chases on foot, and one pretty forgettable car chase. You also get some gun play with little blood. There is little to no intensity in the action scenes. The only thing that makes these scenes intense is the music played over them.There is a pretty good, and unexpected twist at the end of the movie, and it's handled pretty well thanks to Portier's performance. I didn't see it coming. There is also some really good transition edits in this film that I thought were done nicely.Though not a perfect movie, it is enjoyable, mostly thanks to Portier's performance.If you ever catch this on HBO or the free section of your On Demand service, check it out if your regular show is either not on for alternative programming or in a rerun. I actually watched it on Hulu, and only had to deal with about two minutes of commercials, which were sometimes oddly placed.

sol1218 ***SPOILERS*** The third and final installment of the adventures of former Philadelphia detective Let. Virgil Tibbs, Sidney Poitier. Tibbs now a member of the SFDP homicide division gets in over his head in an effort to take on "The Organization" that's running both the city and State.In the movie Tibbs gets himself involved with this rag tag revolutionary group made up of former junkies or persons who had members of their family or friends end up dead because of using illegal drugs. Drugs that "The Organization"-through its army of drug pushers-supplied to them at a nifty profit for itself! The revolutionaries lead by street corner preacher Dave Thomas, Billy Green Bush, had raided one of "The Organization's" phony business fronts, the Century Furniture Co., used as a storage center for it's drug shipments. During the raid, where the revolutionary's ripped off $4,000,000.00 in heroin, the CEO of the company John J. Bishop, Johnny Haymer, was murdered. Not by the revolutionaries but by someone, or someones, who were afraid he'd talk to the police if it's found out that he's a front-man for "The Organization".Called to the scene of the break-in murder Tibbs senses that he's on to something big in that the night watchman George Morgan, Charles H. Gray, who was knocked out by the intruders is holding something back from the police. That something turned out to be the 4 million dollars in heroin that was taken from the plant! Tipped off to who did it, by the robbers themselves, Tibbs decides to find Bishop's killer on his own relying on the revolutionaries. The revolutionaries in them being suspected in both murder and kidnapping, of John J. Bishop, has Tibbs decide not to have his superiors on the SFPD know about what he's doing in working with them to find Bishop's killer! As well as his connection with "The Organization" who's suspected by Tibbs in having him killed!***SPOILERS*** Let. Tibbs against his better judgment gets himself involved with a bunch of mentally unstable,from being addicted to hard drugs, persons who end up almost getting him killed in his, very foolishly, trying to help them. This group of urban "freedom fighters", or vigilantes, fall apart as soon as "The Organization" puts the squeeze on them! Not that "The Organizaton" had that much on them, it didn't, but because the not too bright "freedom fighters", for the people, were so unable to keep a secret, the stolen 4 million in heroin, that it didn't take that long for "The Organization" to find out who they were and whack them! In fact they themselves, or some of them, tried to sell the drugs back to "The Organization" which tipped it off to just who were the people who stole it! As for Let. Tibbs he soon realized what a total schmuck he was but by then it was far too late for him to turn things around. In his putting both his job as well as life on the line, by him throwing in his lot with this bumbling gang of latter day Jesse Jameses, Tibbs threw it, his career as a policemen, in and was never seen or heard from again. In that there's was never another sequel to the Virgil Tibbs saga, this being the third and final installment, to come out of the Hollywood studios again!

lastliberal We first met Virgil Tibbs waiting for a train in Sparta Mississippi In the Heat of the Night. For those that didn't know, he reminded us in They Call Me MISTER Tibbs. Now, he had his badge taken away after no keeping his Captain informed as he fought The Organization in San Francisco.Maybe the hippie thing is getting tired: calling police "pigs," and the weird dress, and constant "man"'s, or maybe Tibbs is getting tired, but this was just a fair viewing of Sidney Potier as Virgil Tibbs.Well, at least he is still married to the same woman (Barbara McNair), and I always like seeing Raul Julia (Moon Over Parador, Kiss of the Spider Woman), there is "Superfly" (Ron O'Neal), Daniel J. Travanti when he was Dan Travanty, and Max Gail, whom I remember from "Barney Miller." Sidney Potier is always worth watching and you might have an additional favorite above.

Falkenberg2006 I lived in San Francisco from 1964-1980 and got to see a LOT of movies filmed there. I watched them film the sections in Bart ( being built back then and one of the film's chase scenes goes on in the tunnel) and Muni and saw this and the 2 previous Virgil Tibbs films in San Francisco theatres.It is fun to look at this movie after 30+ years and see what is still there and what has changed over the years. The 70's seems like a million years ago. The Phillips gas station on Beach Street has had about 10 different brands over the years. The hofbrau on Turk Street ( Iate there every night, it was cheap) and Lew Lehr's steak house disappeared in the 80s.Hare Krishna's on Market Street across from the Sheraton Palace.I feel this movie is better than the previous Tibbs film, but my opinion is, of course, subjective. Even a bad detective movie has some merits. Of course, the premise of this film, that 6 people could bring down "the organization" ( mafia?) by stealing 4 million dollars worth of heroin is kind of silly. And the organization is having a hard time coming up with cash to buy back the drugs? Come on guys....As for the 70s music, well, Lalo Schiffrin and others composed a lot of movie music back then and times change. I liked the music myself.The 70s saw a lot of movies filmed in the city by the bay. Bullitt, The Laughing Policeman, The Dirty Harry Films, The Monk ( TV film, not the recent TV show, this was with George Maharis and Janet Leigh), The Towering Inferno,and the Streets of San Francisco TV show. I worked as an extra in films in those days and miss that era of cheap food, cheap rent, and cheap Giants tickets...A great site I just found shows probably every movie filmed in San Francisco.http://www.MisterSF.comclick on cinematic sf !George Senda Concord, Ca