In the Heat of the Night: Full list of cast in the movie

In the Heat of the Night is a seminal 1967 classic film based on John Ball's novel of the same name. It stars Sidney Poiter as Virgil Tibbs, a black homicide detective from Philadelphia, who becomes a suspect in a murder committed in Mississippi.

After clearing his name, he partners with Mississippi police chief Bill Gillespie (played by Rod Steiger) at the suggestion of his superior in Philadelphia. With both stuck with each other despite the simmering racial tensions, it's up to them to close this case.

Many of the actors in In the Heat of the Night were notable fixtures in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Sidney Poiter, for instance, had already made a name for himself by starring in films that broke new ground on race representation like Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and To Sir, with Love.

Read on for the full cast list of the film.

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In the Heat of the Night full cast and characters

Rod Steiger and Lee Grant (Image via MGM)

Main cast

• Sidney Poiter as Philadelphia detective Virgil Tibbs, who is falsely accused of murder at the beginning and eventually works to find the real killer.
• Rod Steiger as Mississippi police chief Bill Gillespie, who reluctantly partners with Tibbs and gradually warms up to him.
• Warren Oates as Sam Wood, the officer who arrests Tibbs at the beginning of the movie. A secret he's hiding proves crucial to solving the case.
• Lee Grant as Mrs. Colbert, who is the widow of the murder victim, the wealthy magnate Phillip Colbert, and pressures the Mississipi police to let Tibbs lead the investigation.

Supporting cast

• Larry Gates as Mr. Eric Endicott, a racist plantation owner who antagonizes Tibbs while he's being interrogated. In a memorable scene not present in the novel, Endicott slaps Tibbs, only for Tibbs to slap him back.
• Quentin Dean as Delores, a girl that several important characters have a crush on.
• James Patterson as Lloyd Purdy, Delores's racist brother who gets incensed after she's interrogated by Tibbs, and sends a lynch mob after him.
• William Schallert as Mayor Schubert.
• Beah Richards as Mama Caleba, an abortionist who provides a major lead for solving the case.
• Scott Wilson as Harvey Oberst, a man falsely accused of the murder and subjected to police brutality. The scene where Tibbs proves his innocence is the same one where he says the line "They call me Mr. Tibbs."
• Anthony James as Ralph, Delores's secret boyfriend.
• Peter Whitney as Courtney.
• Kermit Murdock as Henderson.
• Larry D. Mann as Watkins.
• Matt Clark as Packy Harrison.
• Arthur Malet as Ulam.
• Fred Stewart as the coroner Dr. Stuart.
• Timothy Scott as Shagbag.
• William C. Watson as McNeil.
• Uncredited actors include Allen Oppenheimer, Buzz Barton and Clegg Hoyt.

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What is In the Heat of the Night about?

Sidney Poiter and Lee Grant (Image via MGM)

In the Heat of the Night was an adaptation of John Ball's 1965 novel of the same name. It follows a murder mystery set in the fictional town of Sparta, Mississippi (no relation to the real town of the same name).

When wealthy industrialist Phillip Colbert is murdered, Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poiter) gets arrested as a suspect by Officer Sam Wood (Warren Oates). He's cleared of suspicion once the Mississippi police discover that Tibbs is also a homicide detective from Philadelphia.

On the suggestion of his superior in Philadelphia, Tibbs reluctantly works with the Mississippi police and its chief Bill Gillespie (Rod Steiger) to solve the murder.

In one of the film's most memorable scenes, he successfully clears Harvey Oberst (Scott Wilson) of suspicion by establishing that the killer couldn't be left-handed like Harvey was. His ego bruised, Gillespie calls Virgil Tibbs a racial slur, and Virgil says this iconic line in response:

They call me Mr. Tibbs.

Another memorable scene in In the Heat of the Night, that wasn't in the novel, has Virgil interrogating the racist plantation owner Eric Endicott only to get slapped for his trouble. In response, Virgil slaps Endcott right back, which was quite a shocking development for audiences of that era.

In the Heat of the Night was released at a time when the Civil Rights Movement was gaining momentum in the United States, and how it addressed sensitive issues of racism and prejudice continues to be discussed to this day.

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In the Heat of the Night can be viewed with an MGM+ subscription on Amazon Prime Video. It can also be rented standalone on Prime Video.