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In the Heat of the Night (1967) More at IMDbPro »

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

Yes. In the Heat of the Night (1965) was written by American author John Ball [1911-1988]. In this book, Ball introduces the Virgil Tibbs character, who went on to appear in five more novels.

It was filmed in Sparta, Illinois. The bridge scene was at Chester, Illinois on the Mississippi River between Illinois and Missouri. Incidentally, the train depot has been restored to its former glory and is now an art museum with a section devoted to the film (movie posters, scripts, autographed photos, etc.). Mama Caleba's grocery store, which was near the depot is gone, but the downtown area is said to look pretty much the same.

Gum. The director wanted Gillespie [Rod Steiger] to chew gum to establish a link to a notorious southern sheriff who chewed tobacco. Steiger protested until he realized that he could use it to provide insight into his moods and thought processes. It is said that he chewed 263 packs of gum.

When Virgil (Sidney Poitier) found the branch on the floor of Colbert's car, he first thought that Endicott (Larry Gates) had to be Colbert's killer because the fern came from his greenhouse. He had to abandon this theory later on, after receiving reports from three witnesses who saw Colbert driving back into town after visiting Endicott. Now it became obvious that Colbert had visited Endicott in his greenhouse, the plant stuck to his shoes, and he drove back to town where he met his killer. The branch didn't lead Virgil to the real killer, but it did show that Endicott wasn't guilty.

For his money. Ralph [Anthony James] had to pay for Delores Purdy (Quentin Dean)'s abortion, and he knew Colbert had a lot of cash. In his confession, Ralph describes how Colbert gave him a lift in his car and, on the way, stopped to show him the site of the new factory. Ralph says something like "..he got out of the car and was standing at the edge of the field...he was just asking for it...." etc. So Ralph wacked him and stole his money.

The final scene (as the credits roll) starts with a closeup of Virgil in the window of the train. As the scene progresses, the camera backs off further and further, finally shooting the train from high up in the air. Although it hasn't been confirmed, the shot was most likely made from a helicopter.