Soapy Showbiz Fun: ‘Hollywood Wives’ 1985

 

Jackie Collins' "Hollywood Wives" was a mini-series hit for ABC in 1985.

Hollywood Wives was Jackie Collins’ most popular novel, of the many that she churned out for decades. With Dynasty then riding high on TV with Jackie’s sister Joan, producer Aaron Spelling snapped up the bestseller for a 1985 ABC mini-series. Like the book, Wives got bad reviews but was a big ratings hit.

I recall reading an interview with Jackie Collins, claiming that her showbiz stories were more authentic because she was part of the Hollywood scene, as opposed to outsider writers looking in. Maybe, but Jackie’s books were still one-dimensional, with little credibility. I love a good trashy read about the rich and famous and Jackie Susann’s Valley of the Dolls set the dirty suds standard. Hollywood columnist Joyce Haber’s The Users, which Collins pilfered the main plot for her Hollywood Wives, was much more realistic and sleazy. Dominick Dunne wrote page-turners that were much more juicy and authentic.

Did the costumes of "Hollywood Wives" get mixed up with those of "Golden Girls?"

A big reason for watching Hollywood Wives was the clothes. At his peak, designer Nolan Miller was hailed as an arbiter of old-time Hollywood glamour. When Dynasty came along, he and Joan Collins had a field day with increasingly over the top costumes. It set the style dial of the ‘80s, which was “Glitz is good.” Well, none of that has aged well. Miller’s glam outfits from that era look more drag queen than the real diva deal. Miller’s strong suit was dressing aging icons simply, like Barbara Stanwyck and Elizabeth Taylor, rather than his gaudy soap stars. Nearly all the power-dressing outfits of Hollywood Wives are laughably ugly: Shoulder pads galore, tassels and beads, oversized tops and gaudy sequined gowns, and so much more, more, more. As for the hair styles, it’s amusing to guess which star, male and female, are wearing their own hair, or sporting a wig, weave, or rug!

Nolan Miller's gown for "Hollywood Wives" seems inspired by a NYC taxi seat cover!

Laura Branigan’s convulsive wailing tries to bring pathos to the on the nose lyrics of the Hollywood Wives theme. Warning: If you listen, you’ll have this Tinseltown tune in your head for days! A mix of a cautionary tale (the pitfalls of Hollywood!) and fairytale (young newcomers get makeovers and movie offers by pure chance), all of it highly unbelievable. The villains are crass and cartoonish: the self-promoting producer, the high-class pimp, the scheming star, and the sleazy bottom feeders.

Here's the ear worm theme song from Hollywood Wives! Have a hair brush handy so you can sing along!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toZEvmbevw4

***As few spoilers as possible ahead***

I will say this: though some cast members are miscast or their talents were modest, everyone tries their best. The bad writing keeps the story from being a real show biz expose. That said, Hollywood Wives is trashy fun on a soap opera level.

Robert Stack gets the '80s glam look as George Lancaster in "Hollywood Wives."

Robert Stack plays revered icon George Lancaster, a star who’s considering a coming out of retirement for a hot property, Final Reunion. At least they didn't name him Kirk Lancaster! And Steve Forrest plays a former movie idol desperate for a comeback—sorry, a return—Ross Conti. It's typical of this type of mini-series that B actors turned TV stars are cast as legendary movie stars. Robert Stack is a Kirk/Burt type of actor, Steve Forrest is a Tony Curtis type heart throb whose career is suffering from hardening of the arteries.

Steve Forrest and Robert Stack admire each other's "work" in "Hollywood Wives."

Stack was always a stiff actor and here, Bob is given the ‘80s makeover, with fluffy, highlighted hair, and face-lifted mug full of makeup. He reminds me a Madame Tussaud wax figure, with his booming voice adding to the disembodied effect. Forrest has more fun as the aging matinee idol seeking assurance from everyone, and the only self-reflection he seeks comes from his mirror. Steve Forrest is five years past his hunky “Uncle Greg” in Mommie Dearest and still looks pretty good, though he looks like he’s had work done along the way.

Steve Forrest is amusing as aging movie hunk Ross Conti in "Hollywood Wives."

Candice Bergen as Elaine Conti, in gowns that look like coverups, "Hollywood Wives."

Candice Bergen is sympathetic but miscast as Elaine Conti, longsuffering wife of aging star Ross Conti. Bergen is gorgeous at 38, smart, sexy, loving, etc. Why would her wife put up with a 60 year old man-baby like Forrest's Ross? Also, Bergen’s Elaine should probably be Ross' second, younger wife, but she's made to act like the typical Hollywood first wife. Bergen, still looking model trim and beautiful, is stuck wearing some baggy, bulky monstrosities. And what's with that mullet in the first party scene? In casual wear, Candy looks stunning and subtle, hardly the desperate Hollywood housewife.

Candice Bergen looks like her gorgeous younger self in more casual moments
of 1985's "Hollywood Wives."

Frances Bergen, Candice's equally gorgeous mom, as Pamela Lancaster.

Frances Bergen plays Pamela, George Lancaster's new wife. One look at ageless beauty Frances and you’ll know where Candice got her damned classy good looks and hair!

Mary Crosby is a willful Hollywood daughter in 1985's "Hollywood Wives."

Mary Crosby as Karen Lancaster, the bad girl who’s really good deep down, was quite good at playing sultry vixens. Crosby’s Karen and Stack’s star have one of the most icky daughter-father confrontations ever, but hey, it works for them! Also unfortunate are Crosby and Suzanne Somers as the show’s femme fatales, who are over-dressed, over-tressed, and over-tarted up.

Suzanne Somers is fictional movie sex symbol Gina Germaine, interviewed by
Mary Hart of "Entertainment Tonight," in 1985's "Hollywood Wives."

Suzanne Somers is Gina Germaine, "the most beautiful, sensuous sex symbol in the United States today," proclaims Entertainment Tonight interviewer Mary Hart. Even in 1985, that wasn’t true! Somers is a latter day Monroe blonde bombshell, who wants to be taken seriously, with her eye on a role in Final Reunion. Somers’ response to Hart seems like a sly dig at Three's Company: "Sex symbols are for television series."

Anthony Hopkins is director Neil Gray, whose sobriety and fidelity fails him
under pressure, in 1985's "Hollywood Wives."

"When you have no taste, you can do anything," uttered by Anthony Hopkins, his explanation for slumming here? Hopkins plays Neil Gray, the uncompromising director of Final Reunion, until Somers’ Gina gets him in some compromising positions!

Stephanie Powers as Montana Gray, screenwriter with integrity, but still glam,
in 1985's ABC mini-series "Hollywood Wives."

Stephanie Powers is screenwriter Montana Gray, Neil’s wife. Oh, and the writer for Final Reunion. Though her character sneers at Hollywood ways, whose name sounds like a cowboy star, yet Montana looks like a typical Hollywood diva. Despite the artifice, Powers plays with her usual no-nonsense style and doesn’t let the “Big ‘80s” look take over her own fashion style.

Joanna Cassidy as Marilee Gray, member of the first wives club in 1985's "Hollywood
 Wives." Cassidy's a redhead so she gets the shamrock green gown and Bergen rocks
a blue breast plate. Candice also sports a Joe Dirt mullet here!

Joanna Cassidy is Marilee Gray, an ex-Hollywood wife of director Neil. She’s smart, pragmatic, and has great taste in boy toys. Cassidy looks lovely here and feels the most authentic of the bunch in Hollywood Wives.

Rod Steiger, who never met a rug he didn't like, plays Oliver Easterne, blowhard
 movie producer, from 1985's "Hollywood Wives."

Rod Steiger overplays the self-aggrandizing movie producer, Oliver Easterne—surprised? Oliver gleefully uses Final Reunion as the proverbial carrot to dangle in front of all interested parties. Steiger’s character is humorously crass and he brays his lines, like the male Shelley Winters he is!

Angie Dickinson is no-nonsense talent agent Sadie LaSalle in "Hollywood Wives."

Angie Dickinson is Sadie LaSalle, the tough, top talent agent who holds a grudge against Ross Conti, when he burned her decades ago. Though Angie is stuck in similar potato sack costumes as Candice Bergen, her hair and makeup are far simpler than her tawdry Police Woman days. She looks lovely here at 54.

Roddy McDowall multi-tasks as an interior decorator and pimp, Jason Swandle,
in 1985's ABC mini-series, "Hollywood Wives."

Roddy McDowall plays interior decorator AND pimp Jason Swandle, finding young men for lonely ladies. Roddy plays him in his usual hammy way. The facial tics and vacillating between creepy charm and passive/aggressive threats made me wonder: Did Roddy and Anthony Perkins ever star in a movie together?

Andrew Stevens as Buddy Hudson, getting the Sadie LaSalle build-up in 1985's
ABC mini-series, "Hollywood Wives."

Andrew Stevens is Buddy Hudson, an aspiring actor, once a male prostitute. Stevens is square-jawed and plays the soap opera scenes with surface skill. But when his character wishes to be taken seriously, it’s an eye roll. Andrew Stevens is cute as button and a square-jawed Ken Doll, but not the next Al Pacino, as Buddy is described! Yes, he too hopes to get his big break in Final Reunion. Catherine Mary Stewart as Angel Hudson was a fairly icky ‘80s ingénue but she fits right in Hollywood Wives. She has the good luck to be discovered at the beach by creeper producer Oliver Easterne, who thinks she’d be perfect for Nicki in Final Reunion.

Catherine Mary Stewart plays naive Angel Hudson in 1985's "Hollywood Wives."

From the other side of the showbiz lens is Deke, at home watching a Hollywood gala on TV with most of these characters. He is also going berserk since he has found out that he was given up for adoption from some showbiz bigwig. Apparently a problem child, Deke turns into Mr. Hyde toward his sugary sweet adoptive parents. Deke, as the bad apple twin, is bizarrely played by Andrew Stevens. Why is he nuts? Why does he look like Lon Chaney's The Wolfman? Why does he limp? Why does he talk in a gravelly New York City accent? Why is his skin chalky white, with brown smudges? Since this is Hollywood Wives, why ask why?! Aside from knowing that he was adopted, Deke didn’t get Buddy Hudson’s blue eyes, better hair, and charming personality.

Andrew Stevens also plays (awfully) Deke, Buddy Hudson's secret twin in
1985's "Hollywood Wives." Is Lon Chaney, Jr. deranged Deke's secret father?

Though Deke wreaks havoc along the way to Hollywood to take revenge, the inept scenes with this psycho and victims are unintentionally hilarious. The worst is the first, with his adopted parents, who get the most fake beat downs and stabbing deaths ever.

I’m not even going to try to explain the convoluted plot of Hollywood Wives, except that it leaves no showbiz cliché unchecked! Basically, just about everyone involved, directly or indirectly, wants a piece of Final Reunion. Naturally, there is no synopsis given for this brilliant story—not from the writer of Hollywood Wives! The fun is watching the lengths the characters will go to get a role, for themselves or a spouse. There are even more male bimbos in this movie than women, which reflects its intended audience, women and gays. The pool boy, the tennis player, the waiters, etc.—choose your flavor!

Candice Bergen's Elaine may be the only one of "Hollywood Wives" who's so easily satisfied by an ungrateful husband with flowers! With Steven Forrest as Ross.

Most of my favorite moments happen to be the most ludicrous. Deranged Deke hitching to Hollywood, Rod Steiger’s inappropriate producer, and especially Gina Germaine’s scheming to get a coveted movie role.

"Jane Fonda got serious, why can't I?" Was Suzanne Somers writing her own dialogue as Gina Germaine? Gina wants the role of young ingénue Nicki in Final Reunion. Suzanne’s tawdry bombshell hardly fits the part. Somers sports a shit ton of makeup and the most platinum, unruly perm I’ve seen since Connie Stevens ‘70s Brillo shag! One unkind but accurate critic commented that Suzanne in Hollywood Wives looks like Daryl Hannah in Blade Runner!

You can tell Suzanne Somers is the vixen in 1985's "Hollywood Wives," because
she's seductively brushing her locks as Gina Germaine plots and schemes!

I never thought Suzanne Somers was a beauty, but her mobile features, capped with big, childlike blue eyes, reminded me a bit of Goldie Hawn. Even their voices are similar. Suzanne plays the scheming star in a likable fashion. Gina Germaine is a vision in yellow terrycloth as she lies in wait down Palm Beach way, where director Neil Gray is there for talks with George Lancaster about Final Reunion. Gina is willing to roll in the hotel hay for a role in this “serious” film. Neil has had two beautiful wives, but finds mop-topped Suzanne irresistible. Soon, stocky, dour Anthony Hopkins is making hot jungle love to Somers’ Gina. It gets better when they happen to be on the same flight home and she initiates him into the mile high club—by the coffee machines—guess the restrooms were busy! Googly-eyed Suzanne and owlish Anthony make a comic couple!

Stephanie Powers as Montana Gray, at hubby Neil's funeral, in "Hollywood Wives."
 This must have cut close to the bone for Powers, who had just lost
long-time companion William Holden three years prior.

And the guessing game of who are the natural parents of Deke (and Buddy) comes to a ludicrous finale. Though no attention is given to the trail of bodies that Deke has left across the USA, it made me think of a later real life celebrity-obsessed psychotic, Andrew Cunanan, who capped his killing spree with shooting Gianni Versace on his doorstep.

I’m surprised nobody has remade Hollywood Wives, since the showbiz game hasn’t changed a bit. The stakes are just higher and the class level of today’s participants even lower. Let’s just enjoy the soapy, sleazy ‘80s Hollywood Wives!

Steve Forrest as Ross Conti, getting the Sadie LaSalle build-up before he gave her
the brush-off, in 1985's "Hollywood Wives."

‘No Way to Treat a Lady’ 1968

Lee Remick realizes that her Italian chef is a serial killer, "No Way to Treat a Lady."

Thrillers set in the Big Apple were big in 1968, like the somewhat forgotten sleeper, No Way to Treat a Lady. The Boston Strangler and The Detective were notable hits. The best of the bunch was Rosemary’s Baby.

Yet, compare the way No Way to Treat a Lady was filmed versus Rosemary's Baby, both made by Paramount Studios, in NYC. They are psychological suspense films, but Lady was filmed "realistically" versus Roman Polanski's mood-enhancing visual style in Rosemary’s Baby. Lady seems like a Universal TV movie in comparison. No Way to Treat a Lady was directed by competent but workmanlike Jack Smight and cinematographer, Jack Priestley. Both artists spent much of their career in TV and it shows. The same goes for screenwriter John Gay, as well.

It's in his kiss: the lipstick is the killer's trademark.

The strengths of No Way to Treat a Lady are the clever, engaging story by William Goldman and the appealing, well-cast actors. Goldman wrote some stories that are wonderfully entertaining: No Way to Treat a Lady, Magic, and Marathon Man are his best. More importantly, Goldman was considered one of the best screenwriters of his time. He was inspired to write No Way to Treat a Lady from the Boston Strangler headlines at the time. For awhile, it was thought that there might be two different killers, and Goldman wondered what would happen if the original killer became jealous sharing the headlines? In the film, this isn't at the core of the movie, but it offers a little levity. Several major points differ from book to film: the killer is much more prominent in the film; he also succeeds in killing the cop’s girlfriend; and the film is more about the killer and cop’s relationship. These changes are for the better, IMO. What is most amusing is that the cop and killer are both browbeaten mama's boys.

Lee Remick & George Segal have great chemistry as the free-spirited woman & the cop.

George Segal, as Morris Brummel, is winning as the cop who is driven crazy by his mama and the homicidal maniac, and finds his woes lightened when he’s smitten with Remick's free-spirited modern woman. Segal is a natural comic actor, but is also dramatically intense enough to be believable as a cop.

George Segal, as cop Mo Brummel, gets flack at work, home, & from a serial killer!

Lee Remick is smart, funny, not to mention lovely, as Kate Palmer. A quirky charmer here, Lee reminds me of the late Carole Lombard in mixing playfulness with sexiness. Remick had a solid career as a leading lady in film and TV. Especially considering that beautiful actresses were falling out of style for the few serious roles for females as the ‘60s went on. For instance, Lee would have made a great Hitchcock blonde. Yet, while Remick was a top leading lady, she never made that top tier as a female star who could carry a movie on her own. This was illustrated when Lee Remick won a Tony for her 1966 Broadway performance in Wait Until Dark. Yet, when it was made into a film the following year, Audrey Hepburn was chosen to play Susy Hendrix, the terrorized blind woman.

Lee Remick plays a latter day Hitchcock blonde, like Grace Kelly in 'Rear Window.'

Eileen Heckart has a field day as George's Jewish mama, Mrs. Brummel. The character is a total stereotype, but Heckart makes the mama good-hearted and fun, beneath the endless kvetching! Eileen was the next generation Thelma Ritter.

Eileen Heckhart as the Jewish mama of Segal's cop Morris Brummel, multi-tasking.

Rod Steiger's serial killer offers an impersonation of W.C. Fields to George Segal's harried cop. Segal's reaction was like the critics later, when Steiger played Fields!

Rod Steiger has a field day as a would-be actor whose mother was the real talent in the family. His frustrated character, Christopher Gill, busts out every cliché in the book: the Irish priest; the gay hairdresser; the German plumber, etc. Steiger even offers an ear-splitting imitation of W.C. Fields—a film role he played later—and is so over the top that Segal’s Mo responds by wincing! Still, Jack Smight later wrote that while he had to remind Steiger to stop chewing the scenery, the method actor was totally committed to the role. Steiger gives it his all, and any Rod excess just benefits the character. Steiger as Christopher is funny, vain, scary, neurotic, sad, and just about everything in between. What’s especially interesting about Rod’s character is that he truly engages his victims that you hate that he’s going to kill them! Also, darkly funny, is when Gill follows his own press about the murders, like an actor reading his reviews.

Rod Steiger as killer Christopher Gill, keeping track on his press persona.

This film is filled with great character actors. Murray Hamilton seems to have been in every movie during this era, starting from ‘59’s Anatomy of a Murder through ‘75’s Jaws. Hamilton is Inspector Haines, Brummel’s no-nonsense boss. David Doyle, future Charlie’s Angels wrangler Bosley, is Lt. Dawson. The victims are very distinctive, real, and sympathetic: Sybil’s mom aka Martine Bartlett as Alma Mulloy; Ruth White as Mrs. Himmel; and Irene Dailey as Mrs. Fitts. The always quirky Barbra Baxley is the one who gets away, as the cat lady, whose sister is played by an unrecognizable Doris Roberts—until she speaks!—and scares Steiger off. Michael Dunn is hyper and amusing as the wannabe killer.

Steiger's killer as hissy hairdresser "Dorian," with fussy customer, droll Barbara Baxley.

Lady is a great time capsule of NYC in the late '60s. Speaking of which, the ‘60s is when wigs went mainstream and between virtually every female character and Rod Steiger’s master of disguise, it’s like Wigstock!

Though not a classic thriller, No Way to Treat a Lady treats its audience to a gripping story with strong performances from its stellar cast.

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Lee Remick's last supper? Steiger's killer zeroes in on the cop's girlfriend.

‘In the Heat of the Night’ 1967

Big city detective Virgil Tibbs VS. racist small town Sparta, Mississippi. Note the telling sign.

When In the Heat of the Night was released Aug. 2, 1967, racial strife was rife across the U.S. That summer, my family was living in Milwaukee, WI, where citizens were under curfew, enforced by The National Guard. This prompted my small town, white parents to move us back to Upper MI. I was only 7 and had no idea until my mother mentioned it recently, in reference to current racial tensions. Watching In the Heat of the Night in 2020 makes me realize how the film still resonates, and that moving or looking away is no longer an option.

On April 10, 1968, In the Heat of the Night won five Oscars. With tragic irony, the Academy Awards were postponed two nights, in honor of the funeral for the assassinated Martin Luther King. Heat won the Best Picture Oscar for 1967. Veteran actor Rod Steiger won for Best Actor against tough competition, for his nuanced portrayal as Police Chief Gillespie. Future director Hal Ashby got the nod for best film editing, as did Stirling Silliphant for best adapted screenplay, and Heat also scored for Best Sound. Amazingly, Sidney Poitier received no Oscar nomination for 1967, despite or because of the fact it was his biggest year in film: In the Heat of the Night; To Sir, With Love; and Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner?

Rod Steiger as Police Chief Bill Gillespie. Known for his "big" performances, Steiger shines in his small moments.
Here, the small town cop reacts to Tibbs engaging the suspect.

Heat gets the rap in some quarters for winning Best Picture Oscar over the innovative and iconic The Graduate and Bonnie and Clyde. Certainly, those two films broke ground and spoke to its then-younger generation. Heat was also more of a genre picture than the other two, but it too pushed the envelope, in its depiction of racial tensions. Over 50 years later, in terms of storytelling, I’d say that In the Heat of the Night holds its own just fine, and it isn’t dated at all. In fact, one recent review I’ve read aptly described Heat as ‘once timely, now timeless.’

Chief Gillespie & Virgil Tibbs try to make lemonade from lemons with their uneasy alliance.

Except for a few well-chosen tweaks, In the Heat of the Night is a faithful version of the John Ball novel. The Oscar-winning screenplay by veteran Stirling Silliphant is taut and tough. The story of a murder in a small southern town, with a white police chief grudgingly asking the help of a black Philadelphia detective who’s passing through, is precisely told. There’s hardly a wasted moment in Heat. And as the local racial tensions mount over the visiting black cop going through their dirty laundry, screenwriter Silliphant’s dialogue doesn’t pull any punches. 

Warren Oates offers wonderful comic relief as Sam Wood, the Barney Fife of Sparta.

While Heat’s mystery is intriguing and the racial element most direct, what makes this movie especially watchable is its character study of small town life—southern gothic, really. The small town folks, when it faces a controversial crime, reminded me a bit of Anatomy of a Murder. As someone who grew up in one, these characters are quirky, flawed, but totally real. Director Norman Jewison caught the disparity of small town life beautifully. He juxtaposes the black and white, the rich and poor, rural with “progress,” good ole boys and bad girls, and all the folks in between, uneasily living together.

Anthony James as Ralph, the diner employee who may be Sparta's quirkiest resident!
James, memorable as the creepy chauffeur in 'Burnt Offerings,' passed away in May, 2020.

The strong characters are reinforced by a stellar ensemble cast, one of In the Heat of the Night’s many strengths. Poitier makes a terrific leading man and Steiger is a dynamic star character actor. Sidney was 40 at the time and didn’t look it, but I was shocked that Rod was only 42 as the aging, small town cop! Carroll O’ Connor was 64 when he reprised the role on television in 1988. Rod Steiger chews gum like Bugs Bunny munches carrots throughout this film, and gives me TMJ just watching him!

Steiger's Chief Gillespie may not be a crime solving genius, but he's got Virgil's number.

I am not a fan of Rod Steiger. I think he's talented, but for me, he’s the male version of Shelley Winters—a gifted actor who was too often an outrageous ham. That said, I think Steiger strongly deserved his Oscar. Except for a few scenes where he goes loud and does his motor mouth bit, I was so engrossed in the police chief's character that I at times forgot I was watching Rod Steiger. Gillespie, while a slightly scary and tough character, is ultimately decent, and most affectingly, a sad and lonely one. Steiger has some incredible moments here, sometimes with just a sad look in his eyes, or with uncomfortable body language.

Poitier's Tibbs' trip back home to Philly is interrupted during a fateful stopover in Sparta.

Sidney Poitier as Virgil Tibbs is often the observer, watching and wondering how to deal with all these racist locals. Richard Burton once wrote that Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando both had the gift for stillness, making each physical movement count, and act as much with their eyes as through their dialogue. That describes Sidney perfectly here. He has some great moments of power, like when he's frisked, or consoles the widow, and when he shares a cell with the suspect.

These superb actors plus the ensemble cast are a major strength for 'In the Heat of the Night.'

The tension between Poitier's Tibbs and literally the rest of the cast is incredible. With the exception of Mrs. Colbert, the victim's wife, Virgil meets hostility and downright hatred at every turn. Tibbs is a black man who—in the eyes of the locals—has stepped above his subservient station, and is therefore a threat. The only difference between then and now, it was the norm back then. Poitier plays it cool for most of the movie, with the sense that his character has seen this all before. From the get go, the cop picks him up at the bus station as an instant suspect for the murder. Virgil continues to be quiet, though not obedient, until he hits his breaking point. It’s then Poitier pointedly proclaims his famous line: “They call me Mr. Tibbs!”

Larry Gates recalls his cultured professor in another small town melodrama, Some Came Running. Only here, as town big shot Endicott, his charm is only skin deep. Gates’ lone, long scene contains the classic slap-off between his white bigot and the black cop.

Larry Gates as Endicott, the town big shot bigot. Doesn't he look like Dick Cheney?

Scott Wilson made his film debut, as a suspect Harvey Oberst, followed up with the same year’s In Cold Blood, in which he was promoted to star and killer. As troubled Harvey, Wilson uses those child-like blue eyes to great effect. Warren Oates as Sam, the Barney Fife wannabe tough cop, is very funny and likeable, despite the fact he's not the sharpest tool in the shed. He also gradually respects Tibbs' detective skills.

Scott Wilson as Harvey, a wrong suspect. In '67, Wilson starred as a real killer 'In Cold Blood.'

Lee Grant was back on the big screen in ‘67, after being blacklisted for more than a decade. She’s fascinating to watch as Mrs. Colbert, the widow of the Yankee who was going to start a factory to compete with local big wig Endicott—and hire “colored people!” Grant is pent up intensity personified, and with that distinctive husky voice to boot, though I found some her hand gestures a bit too Actors Studio. The recently deceased (5/26/2020) Anthony James is funny and spooky as Ralph, the diner dude, gleefully hiding pie from Oates’ cop. Quentin Dean is feral as Delores, the tough, small town tart. Fine familiar faces William Schallert and Beah Richards have their moments, too. The entire cast builds a most believable world here.

Lee Grant, back on the big screen, here as the victim's widow & as Sharon Tate's sister-in-law in 'Valley of the Dolls.'

Sparta, Illinois substitutes for Sparta, Mississippi as a backdrop for In the Heat of the Night. Why? Star Sidney Poitier did not feel safe travelling to the second Sparta, circa 1966. The week-long stint to film cotton fields was done in Tennessee, and Poitier slept with a pistol. However, director Jewison makes evocative use of his locales to depict hard scrabble small town life.

'Heat' catches the feel of small town life, thanks to Haskell Wexler's cinematography.

Haskell Wexler and Norman Jewison’s collective vision is great. Like Jewison’s first breakout dramatic hit The Cincinnati Kid, In the Heat of the Night melds the visual, soundtrack, dialogue, and performances in a pleasing rhythm. Jewison started out directing musical and musical comedy productions, including the legendary Judy Garland variety series. Cinematographer Haskell Wexler, who just had the job of making 33-year-old Elizabeth Taylor look 20 years older in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf ?, now rose to the rare task of giving a black man the star treatment, which Poitier credited with enhancing his leading man status.

The look on Poitier's face as Tibbs, reacting to his fellow blacks picking cotton, is haunting.

In the Heat of the Night is filled with memorable shots: Sam’s bloody hand in front of the cop’s headlights; a close up of Tibbs, framed by his arms against the wall, as he is frisked; and Virgil’s staring at the chief, the car window a backdrop to cotton pickers as they drive by, as Gillespie jibes that this life is not for Tibbs. Perhaps the most classic shot is Philly detective Virgil Tibbs and southern cop Gillespie sitting on a bus stop bench together, a spin on the classic Nichols and May expression "proximity, but no relating."

Note the body language of Tibbs and Gillespie, as they reluctantly agree to team up.

And the cherry on this cinematic sundae is the jazzy soundtrack is by Quincy Jones, with Ray Charles singing the title song.

A few film writers have criticized that the eventual admiration between Tibbs and Gillespie was too pat—in the real world, perhaps. However, the screenwriter and director do a great job of giving subtle gradation to the breakdown in their defenses and growing respect for each other.

Ultimately, In the Heat of the Night still cooks on all burners. For anyone who thinks Heat is out of date, compare it to the same year’s instantly obsolete racial comedy, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? Given what’s going on in this country as of 2020, I’d say In the Heat of the Night is a hotter film subject than ever.

'In the Heat of the Night's' final scene, Tibbs and Gillespie have come to respect one another.

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