Searing Portrait of the South

In The Heat of the Night (1967)

Starring: Harry Belafonte, Alan Hale, Jr. Directed by: Norman Jewison Rating: PG Genre: Drama Other

Review Searing drama in which a Philadelphia cop (played with burning rage by singer Harry Belafonte) teaches a fat southern sheriff (Gilligan's Island's Alan Hale, Jr.) how to kick some racist butt. Director Jewison strikes right at the heart of the race problem in the south - Southerners! Belafonte carries a big stick into battle, while Hale grudgingly learns to respect the way he dresses. Remade as the searing "Philadelphia" some years later, only focusing on sexual orientation discrimination in the north.