The Organization

From its suspenseful opening heist scene to its realistic ending,Sidney Poitier's third and final outing as Vigil Tibbs is everything a cop movie should be.Well cast with some great chase scenes.Director Don Medford keeps the fun rolling along at a nice pace.All in all,a great film.

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 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.

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.

Perhaps the least-known Poitier work, certainly of the period; at date of writing only nine IMDb members had voted on this film. This is just over 1% of the votes attained by it's initial prequel, the superb "In The Heat of the Night". Between the two is the awful-yet-lovable "They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!" which took the Virgil Tibbs franchise on a downward slope.

Those that do get to see this movie on it's rare t.v. rescreenings and decide to give it a go after the disappointing "Tibbs" will be justly rewarded. Essentially, the production team is the same as the previous film, though Gil Melle provides a jazz-orientated score instead of Quincy Jone's adequate but inappropriate themes. The domesticity is also played down, with Alan R.Trustman absent as co-writer and James R. Webb taking full control of the screenplay. Most importantly, though, is Don Medford as the well above average director. Apart from a rather crude edit where a car accident occurs in the second half of the picture, the scenes are melded together seamlessly and flow together exceptionally well.

Poitier reprises the role of Tibbs, an arrogant, aloof, bad-tempered, authoritarian, bigoted Lieutenant. As a result, this is probably the most appealing of all Sidney's characters, and he slips back into the role effortlessly. With no star names to support him, such as Rod Steiger or Martin Landau (though Raul Julia did become a star later in life), Sidney stands way above his peers. His ability to project a bad atmosphere every time he walks into a room is flawless. This time he is not let down by the plot, either, which sees Tibbs caught between the Police Department and a vigilante gang that seeks to expose a wide net of heroin dealers. The plot takes on many shifts in loyalty and focus, keeping the attention, while a chase through underground tunnels lends the requisite chase an extra air of tension. The racial motif is again absent, though a rival black cop played by Bernie Hamilton gives off a frisson of resentment.

While predictably not of the calibre of "In Heat of the Night", The Organization stands as the greatest of Sidney's seventies vehicles.

Post-Script, March 2016: Over 16 years since I wrote this review (where does the time go?) I realise that I was too soft on what is quite a shaky film. Continuity and editing are not great, and the tone is frequently dirge-like. It's OKAY, but the concluding line that it's the best of Sidney's 70s movies was clearly written by a man who hadn't then seen The Wilby Conspiracy or Brother John. It's what's known as a "take a chance" point of view, and in this case it was wide of the mark.