Norman Jewison’s neo-noir classic, In the Heat of the Night, adapted from John Ball’s eponymous novel, opened in theatres weeks after the 1967 Detroit riot, one of the worst instances of racial violence in the US. On screen, the murder mystery set in Sparta amplified the pernicious ramifications of racism, brought alive by Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger’s sterling performances. But it was also a crowning moment for Jewison’s directorial vision — his depiction of the claustrophobic unease and distrust between communities in the American south won the film five Oscars. Jewison died on Saturday at the age of 97.
Even though he was known for musicals such as Fiddler on the Roof (1971), or the tender Moonstruck (1987), experiences of discrimination on account of his Jewish-sounding surname and observation of racism during his youth had made Jewison sensitive to causes of social justice, his liberalism further shaped by activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. It explained Jewison’s sense of place, his empathy for his characters and the diversity of his oeuvre. Born in Toronto in 1926, Jewison made his way up the ranks of television. His break came in 1962 with 40 Pounds of Trouble. It would be followed by films as diverse as Send Me No Flowers (1964), The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) and Only You (1992).
As a director who worked with some of the biggest actors of his time — Poitier and Day, but also a young Steve McQueen, Cher, Nicholas Cage, and Marisa Tomei — Jewison’s skill lay in bringing out the vulnerability of his actors to their advantage. Playing a black cop accused first of a murder and then tasked with solving it alongside a white, prejudiced, colleague in In the Heat of the Night, Poitier’s valiant assertion of his identity — “They call me Mister Tibbs” — remains one of the finest cinematic renditions of grace under fire.
