“They call me MISTER Tibbs!” Sidney Poitier commands respect in Norman Jewison’s black-white chafing-cops thriller. Arrested by redneck goons, Poitier’s city-sized homicide dick sets about quietly proving he is better than them.

Poitier’s wary watchfulness cleaves to conviction: Klan trouble prompted his refusal to shoot in the South. Buckling under pressure to film in Tennessee, he nursed a gun under his pillow.

His performance didn’t instigate overnight progress: Rod Steiger got Oscar’d, Poitier didn’t.

Greatest Moment: The big hit: a racist white suit slaps Tibbs and gets one back, hard and fast.

Also See: Noah Cullen (The Defiant Ones), Homer Smith (Lilies Of The Field), Mark Thackeray (To Sir, With Love), Dr John Wade Prentice (Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner?).