African-American Philadelphia police detective Virgil Tibbs is arrested on suspicion of murder by Bill Gillespie, the racist police chief of tiny Sparta, Mississippi. After Tibbs proves not only his own innocence but that of another man, he joins forces with Gillespie to track down the real killer. Their investigation takes them through every social level of the town, with Tibbs making enemies as well as unlikely friends as he hunts for the truth.
Sidney Poitier
as Virgil Tibbs
Rod Steiger
as Police Chief Bill Gillespie
Warren Oates
as Deputy Sam Wood
Peter Whitney
as Deputy Courtney
Lee Grant
as Mrs. Leslie Colbert
Anthony James
as Ralph
William Schallert
as Mayor Schubert
Scott Wilson
as Harvey Oberst
Larry Gates
as Eric Endicott
James Patterson
as Mr. Purdy
Quentin Dean
as Delores Purdy
Kermit Murdock
as Henderson
