I wonder if you'd mind if I have somebody drive you over so you could...
complete the identification?
Martin.
Take Mrs. Colbert over to the funeral parlor.
Wood, you run Virgil down to the depot.
Virge here, Chief, he thinks that Harvey's innocent.
Well, I'll be damned.
-Could I talk to you about it in private? -No, you can't talk to me in private.
I got Colbert's wallet right here and we took it from Harvey Oberst.
You don't think he gave it to him, do you?
I don't know, but Oberst could've come along after the crime,
found it, picked it up, I don't know.
That's what the boy said he did.
I'm sorry, ma'am, but I say different.
When I examined the deceased, it was obvious that
the fatal blow was struck from an angle of 17 degrees from the right,
which makes it almost certain the person who did it is right-handed.
-So what? -Harv is left-handed, Chief.
Everybody in town knows that.
Yeah, that's what we figured out, Chief. Harvey's a lefty.
You're pretty sure of yourself, ain't you, Virgil?
Virgil. Funny name for a nigger boy from Philadelphia. What do they call you there?
-They call me Mr. Tibbs. -Mr. Tibbs!
Well, Mr. Wood, take Mr. Tibbs.
Take him down to the depot and I mean, boy, like now.
I'll have the FBI lab send you the report on this.
Not that it'll make any difference.
-I'll take that. -No.
No, you won't.
I'm sending it in personally.
MRS. COLBERT: My God.
What kind of people are you?
What kind of a place is this?
My husband is dead.
Somebody in this town killed him. I want you to find out who!
You going to give me that?
No, I'm not.
Wood, you take him
and you lock him up for withholding evidence.
Go on, move! Put him with his friend, Harvey Oberst!
WOOD: Virgil, nobody threw your brains to the hogs.
That's for damn sure.
Hold on there, Arnold. Open her up again. We got another customer.
Hey, man, not in here.
-Put him somewhere else. -Don't push the panic button, Harvey.
Hey, man, you hear me? How come in here?
Play it cool, boy.
(SHOUTING)
What you doing wearing white man's clothes?
Where you come from?
You deaf or something?
-Listen, I'm getting... -Keep cool, Harvey.
I'm on your side.
-Well, I don't need you! -I'm all you've got.
Police.
You're a cop?
-You're a cop. -Mmm-hmm.
So how come they locked you up? How come they'd go lock up a cop?
Who said they locked me up?
How come with all these empty cells back here,
they'd throw me in with you? You dig?
Look, I already told them.
I see this fellow lying in the street there.
There's this wallet lying beside him.
Boy, I mean, I come into this world out of Iuck.
Here's the first good thing to come my way and I pick it up.
But when I see whose wallet it is...
I mean, I start to sweat.
But I heard about this new chief, this Gillespie.
Got no more smile than a turnip.
So I cut across the fields, head for the line, and got myself as far as the bridge
before Gillespie grabbed me.
What time did you find the wallet?
Well, I ain't got no watch,
but it must've been after 2:00 by the courthouse clock.
I'm interested in 11 :00 to 2:00. Where were you?
Shooting pool at Larry's Lounge. I got there about 10:00.
-What time did you leave? -Not until closing. Must've been 1:00.
-Anybody can swear for you? -Packy. Bert. Les.
Ever been in trouble with the police before?
Come on.
I can ask at the desk, you know.
Well, they brought me in one time.
-On account of this Delores Purdy. -On what charge?
Well, this Delores, see,
she's real proud of what nature done for her, you know?
Well, we was on a date up to Clarke's Point.
And she says...
Anyway, she asks me. She says,
"Don't you think I got a classy build?" And I say, "Sure."
And so, she starts to show me.
(LAUGHS)
Now, I didn't do nothing wrong.
I just didn't stop her from trying to prove her point.
Then this cop, Sam Wood,
comes charging out of the bush and hauls me in.
-He let you go, didn't he? -Told me not to mess with her no more.
She lives over on Third, about a block from me.
Traipsing around the house in the altogether,
after dark with the lights on.
Somebody sure ought to make her stop doing that.
Come here.
Let me see your right hand.
-What you doing? -Hold still.
(DOOR OPENS)
All right now, give him the waiver for false arrest.
VIRGIL: Forget it.
I'm asking you to sign it, please.
Give him a pen.
All right, let him out.
You'll be able to catch the 12:10 train.
I don't think it'll be a bad idea to change the charge against Harvey Oberst.
He was nowhere near the scene of the crime,
and I think he can prove it.
I guess you can tell me the exact time Colbert was killed, too.
About 12:30, while Harvey was still shooting pool.
Wait a minute, I'll get it.
There's cue chalk under his nails, not dried blood.
-Thank the Lord I don't live in Philadelphia. -One more thing.
Colbert wasn't killed where the body was found.
What do you mean?
He was killed somewhere else then moved to Main Street.
(SIGHING)
-Courtney. -Yes, sir?
-Change the charge to theft. -You mean Harv?
-Who the hell else do we have back there? -Yes, sir.
Hey.
Didn't I ask you to fix that gate?
No. Not me, sir.
Must've been my brother Harold. He's on days.
Harold.
(SLAMS DOOR)
(PHONE RINGS)
Police Department.
Yes, he's here. Hold on, sir.
Mayor's on the line, Chief.
(HORN HONKING)
(MACHINES WHIRRING)
What's all this Mrs. Colbert's been telling me about a cover-up arrest?
No, ma'am, we ain't had no cover-up.
In fact, we just dropped the charges for insufficient evidence.
Mrs. Colbert, I told you he was nobody's man.
I came by to make it as clear as I possibly can,
that I do not want that Negro officer taken off this case.
Negro officer?
Yeah, well...
He comes from up North, you see, and he was kind of,
-passing through. -I don't care what he is.
If it wasn't for him, your impartial Chief of Police...
would still have the wrong man behind bars.
I want that officer given a free hand, otherwise,
I will pack up my husband's engineers...
and leave you...
to yourselves.
Mrs. Colbert, now don't you worry about a thing.
Believe me, we're gonna take care of everything.
Bill,
I wanna see you come through this now, you hear?
Even if we have to step on Endicott's toes?
Even that. But do it fast.
All right.
Now, Bill, how about this here Negro officer?
Mrs. Colbert seems to have a lot of confidence in him.
He ain't nothing. Some kind of a...
Some kind of a homicide expert. But I don't need him.
You mean you don't want him, but you do need him.
Now look, Bill, suppose he turns up the killer?
He has no police power here.
He's gonna have to hand him over on a platter, right?
That's right.
And if he fails, you're off the hook,
'cause it was Mrs. Colbert's idea in the first place.
-See what I mean? -Oh, yeah.
It works out all the way around, Bill, for all of us.
Excuse me.
Any reason why you have to leave today?
Lots of reasons.
What would you say if I asked you to stay for a while?
No.
This town needs a factory, Virgil.
Colbert come down from Chicago to build it.
I hear they're gonna hire 1,000 men. Half of them will be colored.
Know what that means?
-Probably got him killed. -That's what Mrs. Colbert thinks.
She wants us to catch her a killer. No killer, no factory.
Well, it's a lot of jobs for a lot of colored people. You follow me?
I'm going home, man.
-They're your people. -Not mine, yours.
You made this scene.
What do you want me to do, beg you? That what you're after?
Look, I've had your town up to here.
Boy, it'd give me a world of satisfaction to horsewhip you, Virgil.
(CHUCKLES)
My father used to say that.
-Even did it, once or twice. -Yeah, not enough to suit me.
Now, you listen to me.
Just once in my life, I'm gonna hold my temper.
I'm telling you that you're gonna stay here.
You'll stay if I have to call your Chief of Police,
and have him remind you what he told you to do.
But I don't think I have to do that, you see?
No, because you're so damned smart, you're smarter than any white man.
You're just gonna stay here and show us all.
You've got such a big head, you could never live with yourself,
unless you could put us all to shame.
You wanna know something, Virgil?
I don't think that you could let an opportunity like that pass by.
(TRAIN HORN BLARING)
Jess, this is Virgil. He's working for me.
Give him something that runs. You fix him up, you hear?
-What I fix, runs. Who pays? -Police.
Well, you know where to find me.
What you doing here, man?
-Policeman. -You're a policeman, here in Sparta?
They've got a murder they don't know what to do with.
They need a whipping boy.
You got a roof?
No, I'll find a motel.
(CHUCKLING)
Viola, we got company.
(CHUCKLES)
You know what's gonna happen? He gonna get himself killed.
You watch and see he don't.
I'm aware of the risk, Tom, but like it or not, we're stuck with him.
Not if the Chief here's right on the ball.
What do you say, Chief?
You got that old killer all lined up in your front sights?
I'm working on it.
Tom, climb off of Gillespie's back now.
You know damn well we didn't hire him off a homicide squad.
Yeah, it's gonna be his week.
Because Colbert's only the start.
I say this nigger won't live past Saturday.
Mrs. Colbert, can you tell me about your husband's enemies?
That's Endicott.
He's been fighting us all the way.
Sits up on his hill and runs this county. Or did, until we moved in.
Did your husband tell you where he was going last night?
He said he wasn't sleepy.
-I went to bed. -What time was that?
A little after 11:00, I think.
Did he call you, or anybody on your staff, after 11:00?
No.
Maybe the elevator boy can tell us what time he went out.
They put it on self-service after 10:00.
Did your husband use a car here?
Find anything?
Whoever killed Colbert drove his car last night.
How do you know?
Where you going?
I'd drive up there in the car you gave me,
but I'm sure you don't want me there by myself causing more trouble.
-Up where? -Eric Endicott's.
Endicott's? Come on now.
None of that for you, huh, Virgil?
♪ (IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT PLAYING) ♪
♪ In the heat of the night ♪
♪ Mmm-hmm, ain't a woman yet been born ♪
♪ Yeah ♪
♪ Knows how to make the mornin' come ♪
♪ It's so hard to keep control ♪
♪ Yes, it is ♪
♪ When I could sell my soul ♪
♪ For just a little light ♪
♪ In the heat of the night ♪
Listen, you know something I don't know?
I found a piece of osmunda in Colbert's car.
A piece of what?
-On the brake pedal. Osmunda. Fern root. -Fern root?
-Is Mr. Endicott here? -Yes, sir. He's out in the greenhouse.
Would you follow me, please?
-Gillespie. -Mr. Endicott.
This here's Virgil.
-Mr. Tibbs. -How do you do, sir?
May I have Henry fetch you something? Some light refreshment?
No, thank you, we're all right the way we are.
I'll have something cold, something soft, anything.
Henry, bring in a pitcher of lemonade.
-I'll have one, too. -Yes, sir.
I didn't know it was possible to grow this species locally.
-You like flowers? -I do.
Mr. Tibbs, do you know anything about orchids?
-Well, not very much, but I do like them. -Well, let me show you.
(CHUCKLES)
ENDICOTT: Endicott's folly.
-What do you think? -It's beautiful. Breathtaking.
-Have you a favorite, Mr. Tibbs? -Well, I'm partial to any of the epiphytics.
Why, isn't that remarkable...
that of all the orchids in this place you should prefer the epiphytics.
I wonder if you know why?
Maybe it would be helpful if you'd tell me.
Because like the Negro,
they need care, and feeding, and cultivating.
And that takes time.
That's something you can't make some people understand.
That's something Mr. Colbert didn't realize.
Is this what the epiphytics root in?
My point. They thrive on it.
Take it away from them, they do poorly.
-What do you call this material? -That's osmunda. Fern root.
Well, we don't wanna take any more of your time, Mr. Endicott.
Why did you two come here?
To ask you about Mr. Colbert.
Let me understand this.
You two came here to question me?
(ROOSTER CROWING)
Your attitudes, Mr. Endicott, your points of view are a matter of record.
Some people, let us say the people who work for Mr. Colbert,
might reasonably regard you as the person least likely to mourn his passing.
We were just trying to clarify some of the evidence.
Was Mr. Colbert ever in this greenhouse? Say last night, about midnight?
-Gillespie. -Yeah?
-You saw it? -I saw it.
What are you gonna do about it?
I don't know.
I'll remember that.
There was a time when I could've had you shot.
You better damn well clear out and I mean fast!
What about that big speech you gave me this morning?
I didn't know you'd slap any white man, least of all Endicott!
All right. Give me another day, two days. I'm close.
I can pull that fat cat down. I can bring him right off this hill.
Oh, boy.
Man, you're just like the rest of us.
Ain't you?
It's all my fault.
There's no point in ducking it, Bill.
It's gonna be tough to keep you in your job now.
Now look here, Bill,
I don't have to tell you how urgent it is to get Tibbs out of town.
-No, I already told him to go. -All right.
Mrs. Colbert is not gonna be back till Thursday.
You catch your guilty party by then, she's not gonna hold it against us...
if we had to send Tibbs home for his own good.
-But you gotta do it, you hear? -I hear.
Bill, what's made you change your mind about Tibbs?
Who says I have?
The last chief we had,
he'd have shot Tibbs one second after he slapped Endicott,
claimed self-defense.
-Gillespie here. -Courtney here, sir.
-Did you take Virgil down to the depot? -No, sir. Ee just plain wouldn 't go.
Shagbag just saw him heading up toward River Road.
Check.
(HONKING)
Come on, bump him again. Come on.
(CHEERING)
(HONKING)
(HONKING CONTINUES)
Get him again. Come on.
Okay, black boy, we come here to teach you some manners.
Now, we told you about them bad manners, boy.
You better put that down.
(ULULATING)
Why don't you come and get it, baby?
MAN: Come on, man. You ain't nothing.
Let's get him.
I'm going to put that around your neck.
Get him, man!
Get him from the left.
Hit him, man. Come on, from this side.
All right, hold it!