The Organization

Six people break into the Century Furniture factory. San Francisco Police Lieutenant Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) is called in to investigate a dead executive. Nothing else is reported missing. The group of vastly different people reveals themselves to the trustworthy Tibbs. They had stolen a large stash of heroin from the factory in an attempt to overthrow a secret drug ring. They had kidnapped the executive but he was alive when they left.

This is the third and last movie for the iconic Virgil Tibbs who was first introduced in the hit movie, In the Heat of the Night. These sequels missed the point of the original and they paid dearly for it. As for this story, there are some inconsistencies. The group is trying to end the drug trade and one would expect them to destroy the heroin after showing it to Tibbs. Once one of them is tracked down by the Organization, the group's first priority should be to flush the drugs and I don't understand why he would go to Washington Square. A lot of the group's actions make no sense. The dialogue is pretty clunky and the flaws in the writing is too constant. At least, it's a little better than the second movie.

3º installment based on the role originated in the successful ¨In the heat of the night , this ¨The organization¨(1971) directed by Don Medford , in which Tibbs/Sidney Poitier is out to break up a ring of dope smugglers while helps a bunch of idealistic vigilantes (Ron O'Neal ,Raul Julia , Miyazaki , James Watson , Billy Geen Bush) expose a drug ring run by a powerful ringleader . This outing boasts a nice cast as Barbara McNair , Shree North , Raul Julia , Ron O'Neal , Allan Garfield and Daniel J Travanti . Here we find San Francisco Police Lieutenant Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) called in to investigate a sinister case . The African-American detective now married (to Barbara McNair) with family pursues baddies and tries to bust a major dope-smuggling operation .

It is a weak sequel to immensely popular ¨In the heat of the night¨ , this third one results to be an inferior follow-up that has action , suspense , drama , thrills , violence and intriguing finale . This packs the further adventures of the role Tibbs/Sidney Poitier created for the film ¨In the heat of the night¨ . The picture turns out to be slow , boring and it has dated one bit . The movie is realized in Television style , though contains some exciting chase sequences , pursuits and surprising ending . Here Sidney Poitier reprises his ordinary character , giving nice acting . Remaining cast is frankly well , such as : Raul Julia , Fred Beir , Billy Green Bush , Ross Hagen , Allen Garfield , Sheree North and special mention for Gerard O' Loughlin . Atmospheric and evocative cinematography by Joseph Biroc . And adequate music score by Gill Melle in his usual style , mixing sounds from Lalo Schifrin , Isaac Hayes and Quincy Jones .

The trilogy starts with the excellent ¨In the heat of the night¨ (1967) that won 5 Oscars , in which Tibbs joins forces with redneck sheriff who grudgingly accepts helps in resolve a bizarre killing , being directed by Norman Jewison , it stars Rod Steiger , Warren Oates , Lee Grant , Anthony James . The second installment is ¨They called me Mister Tibbs¨ (1970) in which Tibbs is called to investigate when a liberal street preacher (Martin Landau) is suspicious the murder a prostitute , as again finding out a killing and attempting to clear his friend , as well . And the third and final appearance , this ¨The Organization¨ is the third and last in Tibbs series .

The motion picture was middlingly directed by Don Medford . This is one of various and professional works of his long career as filmmaker . He directed a lot of TVfilms and episodes as ¨Dinasty¨, ¨Colby¨, ¨Alfred Hitchcock presents¨, ¨Airwolf¨, ¨Trauma center¨, Baretta¨, ¨City of Angels¨, ¨Most wanted¨,FBI¨, ¨Twilight zone¨, and made films as ¨To trap a spy¨and a good as well as violent Western : ¨The hunting party¨. Rating : 5,5 Passable and acceptable . The flick will appeal to Sidney Poitier fans .

Sydney reprises his Mr. Tibbs moniker in a nicely paced crime drama that has some well orchestrated action sequences, especially the one at the onset of the film. Those first 10 minutes or so reminded me of the heist scene in "Rififi" (1955), in that this scene too was captured with no dialog, letting the viewer see for himself how the action plan was set into motion.

Some reviewers "dissed" the 70's sound track and street jargon, but what do you expect? It's a period piece, a 70's action film and by definition will employ those contemporary motifs. To me, it's both refreshing and amusing to be thrust back into the cultural modes of yesteryear.

The plot line may have had some small weaknesses to it and some of the actors were no Academy Award nominee hopefuls, but the thrust of the film keeps you attentive and anticipatory. Also, it was nice to see Raul Julia, Demond Wilson and Ron O'Neal in one of their earlier films. Sydney, as usual, shines in his rendition of the Tibbs detective. But the plot twists toward the end where Mr. Tibbs puts the pieces together and gets ready to see justice served... Well, see for yourself in this brutally realistic conclusion.

Just the other night, I watched this film and Turner Classic Movies and was as entertained and the first time I watched this film. Like a lot of pictures of the 1970s, it is riddled with the "urban slang" of the period and seen by Hollywood. In other words, it is more colorful than real speech in the real world, but that is to be expected. It is also peopled with the great character actors of the time, many who have become stars later in their film careers.

Raul Julia plays a Puerto Rican drug dealer which was certainly no great stride for Hispanic actors working in Hollywood, but it is after all a crime drama and such people do exist. Still, Mr. Julia turns in his usual five-star performance. Poitier is his usual cool and intelligent self which is a big thing in films of just about any period, and Alan Garfield again plays the New York con with his usual believability.

The chase in the finale is breathtaking and equal to that of such great films as "The French Connection." Also, the kicker is in the final expedition seen where the entire crime is exposed by the brilliant work of our intrepid hero detective Virgil Tibbs.

One of the notable actors in this film is Sherry North who plays the rich Park Avenue white woman with a past in a manner not unlike her work in "Charlie Varrick."

It is a shame that Sidney Poitier did not again portray Virgil Tibbs, but we do have these three films, two of which are sensational. It is a privilege to add it to my detective movies on video collection.

Virgil Tibbs apparently left his detective post in Philadelphia for one in San Francisco, where he shows up investigating a robbery of furniture company that's actually a front for The Organization, a group of businessmen dedicated to the sale of heroin. A Mod Squad of locals orchestrates the robbery as the film opens, stealing four million dollars worth of smack, not to sell it, but to keep it off the streets. Since they're not hardened drug dealers, they're not much of a match for the well-portrayed hit men of the Organization, leaving it up to Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) to try to protect them while working to break the heroin ring. The outdoor locations are great, with one car chase that succeeds quite well, but overall it mostly resembles one of those made-for-TV movies of that era.