Sidney Poitier Collection

In The Heat Of The Night (Dir. Norman Jewison, 1967): The winner of the 1967 Oscar® for Best Picture, In the Heat of the Night is set in a small Mississippi town where an unusual murder has been committed. Rod Steiger plays sheriff Bill Gillespie, a good lawman despite his racial prejudices. When Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier), a well-dressed African-American and Philadelphia police detective, comes to town, the two must betray culturally dictated conclusions of the other to grudgingly work together to solve the murder case.

Lilies Of The Field (Dir. Ralph Nelson, 1963): Homer Smith, an itinerant handyman, is driving through the Arizona desert when he meets five impoverished nuns. Stopping to fix their leaky farmhouse roof, Homer discovers that not only will the Mother Superior not pay him for the job, but she also wants him to build their chapel - for free! Hesitant at first, Homer soon finds himself single-handedly raising the chapel and the financing. But although he will not receive monetary reward, Homer knows that when his work is done, he'll leave that dusty desert town a much better place than when he found it.

The Organization (Dir. Don Medford, 1971): Sidney Poitier reprises his role as Lt. Virgil Tibbs in this taut drama that exposes the ruthless, high-stakes world of international drug trafficking. Co-starring Raul Julia, this action-packed crime thriller delivers edge-of-the-seat entertainment.

Under the cover of darkness, six masked figures raid a seemingly respectable furniture factory - and steal a multimillion-dollar cache of heroin! But these are no ordinary crooks. They're a passionate band of former users-turned-vigilantes whose frustration with the law's inability to combat the city's drug problem spurs them to take on a powerful narcotics ring. After contacting Tibbs, they confess to the break-in, beg him to keep silent and ask for his help. But once he reluctantly agrees to operate outside the law, Tibbs soon finds himself at odds with the police and a ruthless drug syndicate that will stop at nothing to silence him!

They Call Me Mr. Tibbs! (Dir. Gordon Douglas, 1970): In this suspenseful sequel to In The Heat Of The Night, Sidney Poitier reprises his role as the intrepid investigator who, this time, must solve a puzzling murder in the City by the Bay. Featuring an original score by Quincy Jones and co-starring Martin Landau and Edward Asner, They Call Me Mister Tibbs! is an absorbing mystery that ranks as one of the best.

When a prostitute is murdered in San Francisco's ritzy Nob Hill district, an anonymous tip implicates minister and political crusader Reverand Logan Sharpe (Landau). Lt. Virgil Tibbs (Poitier), who has known Sharpe for many years, asks to be assigned to the case in hopes of clearing his friend's name. So begins the detective's journey through a twisted maze of baffling evidence, frantic chases, deadly gunfire and bad alibis. Before long, Tibbs finds himself bitterly torn between his duty as a cop... and his loyalty to a friend.