"They call me MISTER Tibbs!"

Very good indeed. Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger are naturally excellent, and there's a real sense of uneasiness right from the start of the film as the classic title song plays through shots of the train entering Mississippi. Right from the off the audience is throw into a murder case full of mystery, lies and deceit with strong overtones of racial prejudice as you would expect from a film of this era set in the deep south. Poitier plays Virgil Tibbs, a police officer from the North who gets unwillingly caught up in solving the crime, allowing time for plenty of badassery as he fights off the racist locals and deals with the corrupt police. Quincy Jones delivers a moody score that gives the film a raw edge, although nothing is more memorable than what he did with The Italian Job. The plot itself is engaging enough, if rather simple, but when it's made so well, who cares? An effective crime thriller.

4/5