Viewed: 08 January 2003
Directed by: Norman Jewison
Listed in: Movies, Netflix

Extremely good mystery, with black policeman trying to solve in spite of the racism surrounding him. An overzealous officer brings in Mr Tibbs on a murder charge in the town of Sparta, Miss. The chief of police discovers he is a homicide detective from Philadelphia. Exactly what the town needed to solve the case. In order to do so Mr Tibbs must deal with the racism of the Deep South, challenging stereotypes and risking his own life. The film surrounds itself in the atmosphere of the Deep South on hot summer nights. So much so I thought there were flys in the room while I watched it. Of particular interest to me was the impact the railroad (the GM&O) has on this small town. The train can always be heard in the background, it provides the main transportation, development is along it. And the GM&O is of course a good old southern railroad. Running F-Units in the sixties, disappearing by the seventies in a wave of mergers. The other line shown in the Norfolk and Western or at least what I could tell as the Norfolk and Western. Another classic southern line, running GPs. The film really make the presence of the South felt, even on a cold January night in Boston.