In the Heat of the Night

On a hot, sticky night inSpartaMississippi, a businessman from the North who planned to open a factory that will employ the black community is found dead in an alley.  The first thing the local police do is look for any suspicious characters at the pool hall and train station.  Officer Sam Wood (Warren Oates) finds a lone black man sitting at the station, searches him and immediately takes him into custody.  As it turns out, this man, Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier), is just passing through and is the lead homicide investigator inPhiladelphia’s police department.  It takes a while for Virgil’s credentials to be taken seriously by the officers, but soon Chief Gillispie (Rod Steiger) recruits him to help out on the case.  With the locals less than happy about a black man acting as part of the law, racial tensions start to flare in this tale of drama, mystery and crime.

Virgil represents an ideal person, regardless of race.  He is educated, wears a nice suit, has a well paying, important job and speaks proper English.  He has come further in his life than all the white men surrounding him in this little redneck town and that does not sit well with them.  Through it all though, Virgil doesn’t gloat or lord himself over anyone else.  He simply gives respect and expects it in return.  In fact, the more involved he becomes in helping the police department solve this crime, the more respect he gains from Gillespie.

I believe this film won the Best Picture award because of the progressive way it portrayed racial tensions.  There are two big moments where we are both proud of Virgil and partially fear for his life.  This first is when Gillispie calls him ‘boy’ one too many times and then asks what his people up North call him.  Virgil replies, boldly and slowly, “They call me Mister Tibbs.”  Sounds simple enough today, but in a little racistMississippi town in the sixties a black man asking for respect from white men didn’t settle well.  Later, when Virgil goes to question Endicott (Larry Gates), a man with many black servants who would gain the most from the murder, Endicott slaps Virgil.  And Virgil slaps him right back.  It’s a moment of shock, for the people in the room and the 1967 audiences.  But it’s triumphant, making old Endicott remember that the days where he could just shoot a Endicott black man like Virgil are over.

For some of today’s audience this film may be a stark, unflattering reminder that racism was alive and a big part of some parts of the South.  Those redneck boys trying to run Virgil off the road, the diner guy who refused to serve him and the way he was so quickly arrested for just waiting for a train may be shocking and appalling to some people.  Unfortunately, those incidents were not far fetched for the time period.

In the Heat of the Night is a wonderful and engaging film.  If you’re afraid the racial tensions will be too much, the thrilling crime and mystery helps add great elements that help balance everything out.

“Gillespie…you saw it, what are you going to do about it?”

The Defiant Ones

In 1958, the Civil Rights movement was gaining strength and The Defiant Ones became more fuel for the fire.  Directed by the great Stanley Kramer, the film tells the story of two escaped prisoners chained together and trying to outrun the authorities in the south, one man is black, the other white.  Though it may not have been likely that even this level of integration happened much, if ever, in the south, we accept why these two were chained together in one line, “The warden’s got a sense of humor.”  At first while Noah (Sydney Poitier) and Joker (Tony Curtis) are on the run, the usual black vs white moments come up and Joker seems to think he automatically has say over Noah.  But Noah has equal weight on that chain and doesn’t let Joker push him around.  As their journey wears on, they have to work together and through that they come to understand and respect each other, regardless of skin color.

Growing up on Saturday morning cartoons, I could not help but notice that I’ve seen this plot over and over.  Sometimes it’s a Chinese finger-trap, super-glue or some wayward three-legged race but idea is the same thing:  two uncooperative people stuck together, friction at first, then resolve differences, work together and become friends.  For that basic formula to become a go-to staple for generations, I’m not surprised The Defiant Ones won the Oscar for best original screenplay.

The chemistry between Curtis and Poitier is perfect representation the tension rising in the Civil Rights era.  The way they tug on that chain and bounce anger off one another only slows them down.  The scene where they have to climb out of a deep, muddy hole is the first moments that they really have to work together: if one falls, they both go.  At that point, they aren’t friends yet, but that first step of cooperation is a start.  After the duo is caught trying to steal food in a small town, Joker is threatened with lynching just like Noah and a new foundation of understanding and respect is made.

I watched this film on Turner Classic Movies on Martin Luther King Day and was wondering one thing just before the film started:  Would they edit the N-word?  No, they did not and I was proud.  In today’s world of of constantly making sure we’re politically correct, I find it appalling that people think we need to edit historical literature so that future generations won’t learn such derogatory language.  Don’t get me started on the ignorant people who are messing with Huck Finn.  In a historically accurate film about resolving racial tensions, I find that the use of the word is completely appropriate.  Especially since in 1958, that word was pretty common and less people cared much about any hurt feelings over it.

The Defiant Ones is a smart film that never turns preachy over the subject of race.  It was awarded four acting nominations, including Curtis and Poitier both in the lead actor category.  In fact Sydney Poitier was the first African-American nominated for an acting Oscar at the Academy Awards and would later win for his role in Lilies of the Field.  The Defiant Ones is a great film to kick off Black History Month.

“Ya’ll can’t lynch me! I’m a white man!”

Imitation of Life

Bea Pullman (Claudette Colbert) has been taking care of her husband’s maple syrup business since he died, but being a single mother is already enough of a job.  One day, while trying to get her three year old daughter ready for day care, Bea gets a knock on her door.  A large African-American woman is standing there inquiring about a housekeeper job.  Unfortunately, she has the wrong address.  Moments later, they both hear Bea’s daughter falls into the bathtub, her clean dress ready for daycare soaked.  Seeing what a pickle Bea is in, the lady, Delilah (Louise Beavers) offers to be her housekeeper, asking for no more than a place for her and her young daughter to live.  Bea’s hesitant at first, but connecting with the sympathy of being a single mother, she agrees.  This is just the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

After a while of Bea selling syrup and Delilah taking care of the home running smoothly, Bea hatches a grand idea.  Using Delilah’s amazing pancake recipe, they’ll open a pancake house right on the boardwalk.  At first, it seems they’re way over their heads and can never turn enough profit to keep the place, but just a few years later they’ve got things paid off and talk hopefully about their daughters.

Now for the racial tensions that cause dilemmas.  You see, even though Delilah is very dark, her daughter, Peola (Fredi Washington), is very light skinned.  From an early age, she realizes that she will be held back and accepted less if people know she’s really black, that means none of her friends can know who her mother is.  But when Delilah comes to school one day to bring Peola her rain clothes, her whole class is shocked to see her mother.  As Peola leaves, kids whisper, “I didn’t know she was colored.”  Poor Peola knows she’ll never be treated the same there.

Even more sad, is that Peola takes her anger out on her poor mother.  She openly blames her mother for making her black.  Later, these tensions mount to heartbreaking proportions.

There’s also mother-daughter issues with Bea and Jessie (Rochelle Hudson) as she gets older.  At a business party, Bea meets Steve Archer (Warren William) and they begin a romantic relationship.  But before they get married, Bea wants Steve to win Jessie over, so they can feel like family.  The problem is, Jessie believes that with all the attention Steve is giving her, that they’re falling in love.

Daughters always cause trouble around those late teenager years, don’t they?

As much as I enjoyed the story, I did not care for the acting.  When things turn dramatic, it gets over-dramatic.  Other times, the dialogue during more pressing events seems that it’s delivered way too light.  It made me feel a little uncomfortable when rested upon a solid storyline.

Finally, I have to commemorate this film for being the least blatantly racist film I’ve ever seen from the ‘30s.  I’ve felt like so many films of the decade don’t even realize how horribly racist it can be (I’ve found multiple uses of black-face so far.)  Imitation of Life is the first that tackles the subject straight and it was very refreshing.

I don’t know who to recommend this film to.  If you’re in some racial studies class, this is a gold mine.  If you enjoy working women of yesteryear, this is it.  Perhaps this could be a good mother-daughter bonding movie as well.  May I suggest making pancakes for the occasion?

“After all, what’s the good of algebra and all that stuff to a girl?”