Continuity mistake: In the wide angle shot of Chief Gillespie approaching Virgil Tibbs at the train station, there is a dog on the platform, in between Gillepsie and Tibbs. In the next shot, a closer view of Gillespie approaching Tibbs, the dog is gone.
In the Heat of the Night (1967)
Ending / spoiler
Directed by: Norman Jewison
Starring: Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oates, Lee Grant
After discovering that the murderer had something with the pregnancy of a young woman named Delores Purdy, Virgil Tibbs sets off to a small cabin owned by a peaceful old African-American woman named Mama Caleba, who performs abortions for money. Virgil interrogates her about who financed Purdy's abortion. When she tells him that Delores comes tonight, the door opens and Delores walks in. As she notices Virgil, she begins to run away. As Virgil grabs her, a dark figure from the darkness pulls out a gun and asks him to release her. When Virgil realises that this is the murderer, he walks out and we finally see that the murderer is no other than the young, incompetent diner manager of the local diner, Ralph.
As Delores' brother Lloyd arrives with his gang, Virgil tells him to search for the money that Ralph gave her for the abortion. When Lloyd finds it, he pull a shotgun on Ralph, but Ralph shoots him. As Virgil grabs Lloyd and takes his gun away, Lloyd dies, while Delores weeps over his dead body. Once they arrive at the station, Ralph explains that he didn't mean to kill the rich man - he just wanted his money. Ralph is sent to prison while Virgil and Gillespie arrive at the station. "Take Care, Y'hear?" says Gillespie to Virgil, a minute before he enters the train. "Yeah" answers Virgil, and sets off.
Itamar The D.R. Endings
More mistakes in In the Heat of the Night
Chief Gillespie: What do they call you up there?
Virgil Tibbs: They call me MISTER Tibbs!
Trivia: Norman Jewison asked Rod Steiger to chew gum when playing the role of Gillespie. Steiger resisted at first but then grew to love the idea, and went through 263 packs of gum during the shooting of the film.
Question: One of the film's posters features a photo of Virgil Tibbs and Chief Gillespie examining Colbert's dead body in the scene of the crime. However, this did not appear in the film. Was a scene like that ever filmed? If it was, where can I see it? If not, why was the picture put on the poster anyway? If it was for commercial business, why couldn't they put a scene from the movie?
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Answer: The main purpose was to show a black cop working together with a white cop in the deep south. Movie posters don't always have scenes from the movies in them.
Rlvlk