The Organization

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.

We first met Virgil Tibbs waiting for a train in Sparta Mississippi In the Heat of the Night. For those that didn't know, he reminded us in They Call Me MISTER Tibbs. Now, he had his badge taken away after no keeping his Captain informed as he fought The Organization in San Francisco.

Maybe the hippie thing is getting tired: calling police "pigs," and the weird dress, and constant "man"'s, or maybe Tibbs is getting tired, but this was just a fair viewing of Sidney Potier as Virgil Tibbs.

Well, at least he is still married to the same woman (Barbara McNair), and I always like seeing Raul Julia (Moon Over Parador, Kiss of the Spider Woman), there is "Superfly" (Ron O'Neal), Daniel J. Travanti when he was Dan Travanty, and Max Gail, whom I remember from "Barney Miller." Sidney Potier is always worth watching and you might have an additional favorite above.

Sydney Poitier is marvelous in any movie he has been in, so far as I have noticed. When he first showed up as MISTER Tibbs in Heat of the Night, I knew it would be a great watch. Unfortunately, by the third run, The Organization, even his usual and expected dazzlement could not save the faulty plot and slow pacing. The premise of a group of amateurs trying to bring down "the organization" and then trying to drag in a good cop like Tibbs (who doesn't let the force know what he is doing) is, well, thin and silly. There were great slices of Tibbs' home life with his son and daughter, which goes to show that Poitier brings life into even a tedious period cop piece like this one. Overall, it's still watchable, but only if you are a dedicated Poitier fan.

Following the success of "In the Heat of the Night", Sidney Poitier made two more films starring the cop, Virgil Tibbs. However, neither of the sequels were like the original film in several ways. Inexplicably, Tibbs works for the San Francisco Police Department, though in the original film he was a detective with the Philadelphia Police Department. He also didn't have a family...but does in the sequels. But, more importantly, neither of the sequels were about race prejudice...Tibbs was just a good cop working homicide as a detective.

When the story begins, a group of amateurs break into a building and steal millions of dollars in drugs. But they are not planning on selling it but stole it to hurt the organization marketing drugs in the city. But they don't want to work with the cops, as the department is apparently filled with men on the take with this organized crime ring...and they approach Tibbs since he's known as an honest cop. Naturally, there's a lot more to it than this and the plan does not go smoothly at all! So, it's left to Tibbs to pick up the pieces and work the case....even though he's not in the Vice Squad.

This film is a departure from the second film in that "They Call Me Mr. Tibbs!" had a lot in it about Tibbs' personal life and family. In "The Organization", there isn't much about this...it's mostly just a straight cop drama....much like a Dirty Harry film but without the same level of violence. Worth seeing but the weakest of the three films.

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.