On T List of Movie Reviews
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They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! (1970)
Rate:
7
Viewed:
1/11, 1/22
1/11:
Taken from the über famous quote in In the Heat of the Night, I love the title:
They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!
In fact, if the movie is going to be all about Sidney Poitier yelling that line to each person who gets it wrong or doesn't
know his place every five minutes, I'll be totally satisfied. I want everybody to feel the power and intensity of
Sidney Poitier's voice.
Regardless, the film isn't bad, but the fatherly stuff has to go. It's distracting and unnecessary when the filmmakers should've
focused on the case while dealing with the boiling tension which makes for a delicate situation.
The story is good, and my interest is sustained most of the time despite the slow start and occasional sluggish pace.
Another aspect that I like is the addition of forensic science to the equation. Once again, Sidney Poitier
has a commanding presence, stealing the show from start to finish. He's the chief reason why the film is
watchable. I wish Sidney Poitier would yell, "They call me MISTER Tibbs!" at least once.
All in all, although it's a light version of In the Heat of the Night,
They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! is fine enough to pass the time.
1/22:
Raising my rating from '6' to '7' for They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!, the camera loves Sidney Poitier.
He's a '10' while the movie is dated, tackling a run-of-the-mill case, and is almost not a sequel to
In the Heat of the Night. Instead of a bachelor detective in Philadelphia,
Lieutenant Virgil Tibbs is married with two kids in San Francisco which is oddly not shown much. I prefer the
other way around because the family part is too distracting.
Sidney Poitier has two dramatic scenes: one with his character's son when he slaps him until the boy comes to his senses
and the confrontation with Logan when Virgil finally gets the confirmation. Virgil should've watched Logan at all
times until he has him secured in the car. Yet I was rooting for the priest to show he's innocent, regardless.
Well, he did it, and that's that. What a delicate situation that Virgil Tibbs had to deal with.
In the meantime, It's a fine performance again by Sidney Poitier. Martin Landau is convincingly good. Anthony
Zerbe plays a fun slimeball. As Puff, Beverly Todd can be recognized as Joe Clark's vice principal in
Lean on Me.
All in all, if you're a huge fan of Sidney Poitier, They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! won't disappoint.