On This Day

In the Heat of the Night released

August 2nd 1967

10:42 2 August 2024

The US release of 'In the Heat of the Night' took place on this day in 1967 when it opened at the Capitol Theatre and at the 86th Street East Theatre in New York. Norman Jewison's film stars Sidney Poitier as Virgil Tibbs, a black police detective from Philadelphia, caught up in the racial tension of the US South when he is asked to assist bigoted local police chief Bill Gillespie (Rod Steiger) with a murder investigation.

'In the Heat of the Night' was a commercial and critical success and went on to win five Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor for Rod Steiger.