On this day in movie history - In the Heat of the Night (1967 movie & novel):

In the Heat of the Night

directed by Norman Jewison,

written by Stirling Silliphant,

based on the novel by John Ball,

was released in the United States on August 2, 1967.
Music by Quincy Jones.
Theme song In the Heat of the Night written by Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman.
Sung by Ray Charles.

Cast:

Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oates, Lee Grant, Larry Gates, James Patterson, William Schallert, Beah Richards, Peter Whitney, Kermit Murdock, Larry D. Mann, Matt Clark, Arthur Malet, Fred Stewart, Quentin Dean, Scott Wilson, Timothy Scott, William C. Watson, Eldon Quick, Stuart Nisbet, Khalil Bezaleel, Peter Masterson, Jester Hairston, Phil Adams, Nikita Knatz, Sam Reese, Anthony James, Clegg Hoyt, Alan Oppenheimer, Buzz Barton.

Recommended reading:

In the Heat of the Night

By John Ball.

Foreword by John Ridley.

Published by Penguin Classics.

First published 1965.

ISBN-10: 0143107747

ISBN-13: 978-0143107743

Description:

“They call me Mr. Tibbs” was the line immortalized by Sidney Poitier in the 1967 Oscar-winning movie adaptation of In the Heat of the Night, which won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel and the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger Award and was named one of the 100 Favorite Mysteries of the 20th Century by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association. Now fans of classic crime can rediscover this suspense-filled novel whose hero paved the way for James Patterson’s Alex Cross, George Pelecanos’s Derek Strange, and other African American detectives.

A small southern town in the 1960s. A musician found dead on the highway. It’s no surprise when white detectives arrest a black man for the murder. What is a surprise is that the black man – Virgil Tibbs – is not the killer but a skilled homicide detective, passing through racially tense Wells, South Carolina, on his way back to California. Even more surprising, Wells’s new police chief recruits Tibbs to help with the investigation. But Tibbs’s presence in town rubs some of the locals the wrong way, and it won’t be long before the martial arts–trained detective has to fight not just for justice, but also for his own safety.

Born on this day – Sidney Poitier:

Sidney Poitier

Actor

Director

Diplomat

February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022

Credits:

The Last Brickmaker in America (2001); The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn (1999); David and Lisa (1998); Free of Eden (1998); The Jackal: Alternate Ending (1998); The Jackal (1997); Mandela and de Klerk (1997); To Sir, with Love II (1996); Children of the Dust (1995); Sneakers (1992); Separate But Equal (1991); Little Nikita (1988); Shoot to Kill (1988); A Piece of the Action (1977); Let's Do It Again (1975); The Wilby Conspiracy (1975); Uptown Saturday Night (1974); A Warm December (1973); Buck and the Preacher (1972); The Organization (1971); Brother John (1971); They Call Me Mister Tibbs! (1970); The Lost Man (1969); For Love of Ivy (1968); Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967); In the Heat of the Night (1967); To Sir, with Love (1967); Duel at Diablo (1966); A Patch of Blue (1965); The Slender Thread (1965); The Bedford Incident (1965); The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965); The Long Ships (1964); Lilies of the Field (1963); Pressure Point (1962); Paris Blues (1961); A Raisin in the Sun (1961); All the Young Men (1960); Porgy and Bess (1959); Our Virgin Island (1958); The Defiant Ones (1958); The Mark of the Hawk (1957); Band of Angels (1957); Something of Value (1957); Edge of the City (1957); Good-bye, My Lady (1956); Kraft Theatre (1952–1955); Ponds Theater (1955); Blackboard Jungle (1955); Go Man Go (1954); Omnibus (segment entitled The Bad Men) (1952); Red Ball Express (1952); CBS Television Workshop (1952); Cry, the Beloved Country (1951); No Way Out (1950); Sepia Cinderella (1947).

On this day in movie history - Shoot to Kill aka Deadly Pursuit (1988):

Shoot to Kill

aka Deadly Pursuit,

directed by Roger Spottiswoode,

written by Harv Zimmel, Michael Burton and Daniel Petrie Jr.,

based on a story by Harv Zimmel,

was released in the United States on February 12, 1988.
Music by John Scott.

Cast:

Sidney Poitier, Tom Berenger, Kirstie Alley, Clancy Brown, Richard Masur, Andrew Robinson, Kevin Scannell, Frederick Coffin, Michael MacRae, Robert Lesser, Milton Selzer, Les Lannom, Walter Marsh, Frank C. Turner, Sam Hiona, Michael Chapman, Janet Rotblatt, Ken Camroux-Taylor, Howard Storey, Fred Henderson, Robyn Gildemeester, Jerry Wasserman, Gloria Lee, Freda Perry, Kevin McNulty, William S. Taylor, Ric Reid, Claire Vardiel, Blu Mankuma, Gary Hetherington, Allan Lysell, Michele Goodger, Beatrice Boepple, Darcelle Chan, Marynna Danguy, Craig Saunders, Carole Henshall, Andrew Rhodes, Bill Croft, Noah Beggs, John Douglas, John Molnar, John Ryan, Jim van Dijk.