In the Heat of the Night (1967)

African-American Philadelphia police detective Virgil Tibbs is arrested on suspicion of murder by Bill Gillespie, the racist police chief of tiny Sparta, Mississippi. After Tibbs proves not only his own innocence but that of another man, he joins forces with Gillespie to track down the real killer. Their investigation takes them through every social level of the town, with Tibbs making enemies as well as unlikely friends as he hunts for the truth.

Genres: Crime, Drama, Mystery

What to watch after In the Heat of the Night

• The Big Heat (1953) — Same subject: police
• No Way Out (1950) — Same subject: racism
• A Raisin in the Sun (1961) — Sidney Poitier appears in both
• The Hurricane (1999) — Norman Jewison directed both
• Mississippi Burning (1988) — Same subject: murder, racism
• Anatomy of a Murder (1959) — Same subject: murder