They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! (1970)

Director: Gordon Douglas
Starring: Sidney Poitier, Martin Landau, Barbara McNair

Synopsis:
Detective Virgil Tibbs investigates the murder of a prostitute where a preacher friend of his is the primary suspect.

Impressions:
They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! is somewhat interesting as proto-blaxploitation film. Unfortunately for it, by riding on the coattails of In the Heat of the Night, it gets held up to unfavorable comparison to its far superior predecessor. This would be a largely unremarkable murder mystery were it not for roping in Sidney Poitier's Virgil Tibbs and setting him against the social tensions of early 70s San Francisco. If you didn't have Poitier or Martin Landau as the street preacher Logan Sharpe, this movie would likely be entirely forgettable. Besides those two, I'll also give credit to Anthony Zerbe for being a sleazy villain as he does so well. Going back to general comments about the film, the deterioration of Tibbs' domestic situation can be hard to watch. Poitier fans and people interested in blaxploitation may have some reason to see this, but if you're expecting the sort of depth and quality of In the Heat of the Night, you'll be disappointed.

Rating:
50/50