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Partners
In the Heat of the NightIn a Southern town a black city detective (Poitier) is picked up by bigoted rednecks as he waits at a railway station and learns the meaning of small-town racism. The local sheriff (Steiger) takes longer to learn humility and understanding. The investigation of the crime that the duo undertake is not the meat of the film, but the learning process is, as a lonely, boozy guy gropes towards some understanding of his colleague's identity. The cleverness of Silliphant's script is in combining the investigation of a murder with a message film. To the movie's credit, at the end the duo keep their distance. No false note is struck. Steiger took the Oscar, but there's not a hair's breadth between the quality of the performances. This led to two sequels, but neither had a script or a director to match the original, nor, more importantly, the clash of personalities that gives this movie an edge.
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