seymourblack-1 As a sequel to the multi-Oscar-winning "In The Heat Of The Night" (1967), this movie must've surprised its audience because it's so different to its predecessor. The intense drama of the first movie was fuelled by the hostility, racism and threats to his life, that homicide detective Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) had to endure as he worked on a murder investigation in a small town in Mississippi where the bigoted local police chief did everything that he could to make life difficult for him. By contrast, the type of conflicts that Tibbs deals with in the sequel are those of a cop who doesn't want to believe evidence that points to the guilt of one of his close friends and the domestic problems that arise as a result of the conflicting demands of his work and family commitments. Inevitably the stakes seem lower because Tibbs' problems aren't life-threatening and the intensity of the drama is reduced accordingly. Other differences that would've surprised fans of the first movie, are that the unmarried Philadelphia cop now works in San Francisco and is married with two children (the oldest being 11-years-old)."They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!" is actually a very straightforward murder mystery which could have featured any fictional detective, not least because there are no racial issues involved. The main things that actually link the two films are the title of the sequel, which is taken from a memorable remark that Tibbs made in the original and the unusual technique of using close-ups of the characters looking directly into the camera. In the first movie this happened only once when Tibbs was looking at a significant piece of evidence that he'd removed from a car whilst in the sequel, it's used extensively.In the affluent Nob Hill district of San Francisco, the dead body of a prostitute is found in her apartment by the building's janitor who then goes to another apartment in the same building and informs the landlord, Rice Weedon (Anthony Zerbe). When Weedon phones the police to report the suspected murder, he mentions that the last person seen leaving the victim's apartment was Reverend Logan Sharpe (Martin Landau). Detective Lieutenant Virgil Tibbs of the SFPD homicide department is assigned to the case and finds a statuette close to the body which appears to have been used in the attack on Joy Sturges (Linda Towne).In the investigation that follows, Tibbs speaks to the janitor, Mealie Williamson (Juano Hernandez) whose fingerprints are the only ones found on the statuette, Weedon, who it transpires is a drug dealer / pimp and an associate of his called Woody Garfield (Edward Asner) who holds the lease on the victim's apartment. Tibbs, who's a close friend of local political activist Logan Sharpe, also questions him in a manner that's very circumspect to avoid being given any information which, as a friend, he might be expected to keep to himself. The pressures that Tibbs experiences due to the nature of his investigation are then made greater as his wife blames him and the long hours he works, for the domestic problems that she has to cope with on a daily basis.The ways in which Tibbs tries to be meticulously professional in completing his investigation as well as trying to protect his family life makes his character interesting and Sidney Poitier does well in portraying the psychological strains that Tibbs is under. Martin Landau is also good as Tibbs' friend who's passionate about his religious and political beliefs and heavily committed to his community work.Everything about "They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!" is predictably more modest than its highly-regarded predecessor but is nevertheless, still a diverting crime drama that features some good performances.

zardoz-13 Academy Awarding actor Sidney Poitier of "Lilies of the Field" reprises his role as Lieutenant Virgil Tibbs from the 1967 Oscar winning Best Picture "In the Heat of the Night" for veteran director Gordon Douglas' tired, uninspired sequel "They Call Me MISTER Tibbs," with nobody the equivalent of Rod Steiger with which to swap dialogue. Clearly, both "Bullitt" scenarist Alan R. Trustman and Robert D. Webb of "Cape Fear" were off their game when they penned this predictable police procedural potboiler. The dialogue is drab and none of the characters are interesting, not even the chief suspect. Absolutely nothing remotely exciting, suspenseful, or surprising occurs in this tame whodunit. Meanwhile, things have changed considerably since Virgil was last seen in "In the Heat of the Night." He worked as a homicide detective for the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Police Department. In "They Call Me MISTER Tibbs," our hero works for the San Francisco Police Department. Moreover, he has a wife, Valerie (Barbara McNair of "Change of Habit"), and a family, a young rebellious son, Andy (George Spell of "The Naked Kiss"), and a younger doting daughter, Ginger (Wanda Spell of "Hickey and Boggs"). Tibbs drives a medium blue Mustang and his wife holds down the house and hovers over their two children since he doesn't have as much time to spend with them. Literally, there are no surprises in this pedestrian murder mystery. Indeed, the best thing about "They Call Me MISTER Tibbs" is Quincy Jones' terrific orchestral soundtrack with a memorable opening theme, more memorable than this forgettable crime thriller deserved.Everything begins sensationally enough with a struggling prostitute, Joy Sturges (Linda Towne of "The Adventurers"), being bludgeoned to death in the bedroom of her downtown apartment by an unseen assailant. Apartment handyman Mealie Williamson (Juano Hernandez of "Intruder in the Dust") enters Joy's apartment and finds her strewn on the carpet dead with a bloody forehead. He picks up the statue briefly and then puts it back on the floor and reports Joy's death to the superintendent of the apartment, Rice Weedon (Anthony Zerbe of "License to Kill"), and Weedon gives Mealie and fistful of dollars and sends him packing. Afterward, Weedon anonymously notifies the SFPD that popular minister Logan Sharpe (Martin Landau of "Nevada Smith") beaten Joy to death and was seem leaving Joy's apartment. Captain Marden (Jeff Corey of "True Grit") assigns Tibbs to handle the case; it seems that both Tibbs and Sharpe have known each other for 18 years. Naturally, Tibbs' wife Valerie cannot believe that the well-known, politically active evangelist could have committed such a crime. Just to give the movie context, it should be noted that when Tibbs and the police study the crime scene, they mention the word 'semen,' no doubt a controversial term to mention in an early 1970s movie.Tibbs questions Weedon whom he suspects is either a drug pusher or a pimp. Weedon explains that he has no records on Joy Sturges because she was subletting the apartment from another realty company. Tibbs visits the realty company and realtor Woody Garfield (Ed Anser of "JFK") flees and drives off, essentially doing an O.J. Simpson until he crashes his car after a lengthy but tame pursuit. When Tibbs proves that Woody didn't kill Joy, he allows him to leave, with his disgruntled wife, Marge (Norma Crane of "Penelope"), prepared to file for divorce after the revelation that he paid a hooker to stay in an apartment.Tibbs tracks down handyman Mealie and clears him of the crime, and then he goes after Weedon. Luckily, for Tibbs, our hero catches the evil Weedon in the middle of a narcotics transaction. One of Weedon's henchmen assaults Tibbs, but Tibbs dispenses with him briefly before he embarks on a long foot chase after Weedon. Eventually, he corners Weedon in an underground parking garage and they shoot it out. Guess who wins.The scenes in the Tibbs' household are more interesting than his investigation. Andy runs rampant, striking his sister, and smoking in the garden. Our hero wants him to clean up his room. When Andy refuses, Tibbs pops him three times on the jaw. These child rearing scenes could probably never be handled today as they were back in 1970. At the end of the movie, as if to solidify the family sequence, Tibbs is seen walking off with his wife and kids. There is on confrontation between Valerie and Virgil about the welfare of their children and how his long hours at work has affected them.Director Gordon Douglas directs in competent fashion. Surprisingly, for a film released in 1970, the filmmakers never play the race card. In one scene, when Tibbs searches a billiards parlor owned by an African-American, we see a mixed breed of races scowling at the hero when he finds Mealie and leaves with him in tow.Altogether, "They Call Me MISTER Tibbs" is a poor follow-up to "In the Heat of the Night." Mind you, Poitier delivers another fine performance with nuance, but everything looks prefabricated. All of the sets look fake and there isn't much physical violence: one underground parking lot shoot-out that doesn't last long and a fight. Beyond Jones' seminal jazz score, the only surprise—and it really doesn't qualify as a major surprise more like a convenient contrivance—is the ending. Donald Medford's "The Organization" followed "They Call Me MISTER Tibbs" as the second, more action-packed sequel.

John Wayne Peel All right! I admit that following a masterpiece like "In The Heat Of The Night" is a daunting task to say the least, but since this is based on a series of detective books by author John Ball, one shouldn't expect racial politics all the time. The detective series does not use the character of Virgil Tibbs either in film or novel to exploit racial differences, although being an intelligent black man in a position of authority opened him to a certain amount of scrutiny by whites who saw him as less than their equal. But the additional character elements in the books are never utilized in any of the three motion pictures (or in the latter television series.) Tibbs was also an expert at martial arts and fluent in Asian languages, but this never popped up at any point in either form which is just as well. That might have worked in popular fiction in the 1960s, but it adds nothing to the storylines. Still, this movie as purely a detective story is lame (in my opinion) and gives him to the usual liberal stereotypes of Hollywood at this time. I won't give a spoiler, but this film's conclusion to the mystery is neither shocking nor satisfying. Such additions of actors like Martin Landau seem wasted here in a script that does not challenge either the audience or the actor. Better to see the third film in this limited series if you want a good action thriller.

The_Movie_Cat With its kipper ties, flared trousers and proficient - yet dated - music, They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! is perhaps the Poitier film that has aged least gracefully. While its prequel, In The Heat of the Night, was borne from the epitome of cool that was the sixties, here the seventies nurtured this film, which lends it a kitsch value, as well as the air of a t.v. movie. Though these elements - such as seeing the funky theme start up to the tune of Sidney clocking someone with a telephone, or Ed Asner (tv's Lou Grant) "drive" a car to a filmed backdrop - make it endearing and a must-see for a light-hearted Saturday night.A world away from the usual Sidney vehicle we have here a trawl through San Francisco's red light districts, to which the family elements - though the most critically attacked - actually provide effective light. Also unusual is the amount of sexual tone Sidney is here allowed to display. Yet whereas in the former film Poitier was the big town Lieutenant working in small-town Mississippi, here he is on his own territory, thus shaving the film of one of its dimensions. Without Steiger to bounce off, what depth the script provides his character second time around comes from his wife and children, most notably his son. After slapping the boy into submission, Poitier hugs him, mourning the fact that "you're not perfect . and I can't forgive you." Not a perfectly-formed film by any means, this one does improve on repeated viewing, and the majority of ill feeling does seem to be down to disappointment. After all, how does one make a sequel to a movie that's hailed as a classic?