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They Call Me Mister Tibbs! is a 1970 American DeLuxe Color crime drama film directed by Gordon Douglas. The second installment in a trilogy, the release was preceded by In the Heat of the Night (1967) and followed by The Organization (1971). The film's title was taken from a line in the first film.
They Call Me Mister Tibbs! | |
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Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Gordon Douglas |
Produced by | Herbert Hirschman |
Written by | Alan Trustman |
Screenplay by | Alan Trustman James R. Webb |
Starring | Sidney Poitier Martin Landau Barbara McNair |
Music by | Quincy Jones |
Cinematography | Gerald Perry Finnerman |
Edited by | Bud Molin Irving Rosenblum |
Production company | Mirisch Productions |
Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
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Running time | 108 min. |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $2,350,000 (US/Canada rentals) |
Sidney Poitier reprised his role of police detective Virgil Tibbs, though in this sequel, Tibbs is working for the San Francisco Police rather than the Philadelphia Police (as in the original film) or the Pasadena Police (as in the novels).
Screenplay
Detective Virgil Tibbs, now a lieutenant with the San Francisco police, is assigned to investigate the murder of a prostitute. A prime suspect is Rev. Logan Sharpe, a liberal street preacher and political organizer, who insists to Tibbs that he was merely visiting the hooker in a professional capacity, advising her spiritually.
Tibbs questions a janitor from the victim's building, Mealie Williamson, and Woody Garfield, who might have been the woman's pimp. Suspicion falls on a man named Rice Weedon, who takes umbrage and is shot by Tibbs in self-defense.
Tibbs’ ongoing investigation leads him to deduce that Sharpe really is the culprit. Sharpe confesses but requests Tibbs give him some time to complete his work on one last political issue. Told this wouldn't be possible, Sharpe takes his own life.
- Sidney Poitier as Virgil Tibbs
- Martin Landau as Logan Sharpe
- Barbara McNair as Valerie Tibbs
- Anthony Zerbe as Rice Weedon
- Edward Asner as Woody Garfield
- Jeff Corey as Captain Marden
- Norma Crane as Marge Garfield
- Juano Hernandez as Mealie Williamson
- David Sheiner as Lieutenant Kenner
- Beverly Todd as Puff
- Ted Gehring as Sergeant Deutsch
- Linda Towne as Joy Sturges
- Garry Walberg as Medical Examiner
- George Spell as Andy Tibbs
- Wanda Spell as Ginger Tibbs
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Quincy Jones wrote the score, as he did with In the Heat of the Night, although the tone of the music in both is markedly different. The previous film, owing to its setting, had a country and bluesy sound, whereas his work for this film was in the funk milieu that would become Jones' trademark in the early 1970s.
The film's title was taken from Virgil's line in In the Heat of the Night.
It was followed by a third film called The Organization (1971).
The film was the last appearance of veteran actor Juano Hernández, who died in July 1970, a few days after the film premiered.
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The film did not attract the same response as the series' 1967 debut, In the Heat of the Night.
The film has a 60% rating on Rotten Tomatoes as of June 2009.
They Call Me Mister Tibbs! | ||||
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Soundtrack album by Quincy Jones | ||||
Released | 1970 | |||
Recorded | 1970 | |||
Genre | Film score | |||
Length | 32:49 | |||
Label | United Artists UAS 5214 | |||
Producer | Quincy Jones | |||
Quincy Jones chronology | ||||
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The film score was composed, arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones, and the soundtrack album was released on the United Artists label in 1970.
Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic |
Allmusic's Steven McDonald said "They Call Me Misters Tibbs! had a more open, urban attitude from its San Francisco setting. The music throughout has an edge, with some interesting musical experiments going on ... Jones, as one example, used cimbalom to reflect Tibbs' feelings".
Track listing
All compositions by Quincy Jones
Personnel
- Unidentified orchestra arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones
- List of American films of 1970