FAQ

1. They prowl.

As he clearly explains to Gillespie, he came from Brownsville after visiting his mother and was waiting for the train to Memphis.

When wealthy Sparta, Mississippi factory owner, Philip Colbert, is found murdered, Sparta Police Chief Bill Gillespie's (Rod Steiger) prime suspect is Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier), a black man found waiting for a train, until he learns that Detective Tibbs is actually the number one homicide expert in the Philadelphia Police Department. During a time in 1967 during which the Deep South was still a hotbed of racial tension, Gillespie reluctantly asks Tibbs for his help.

Yes. In the Heat of the Night (1965) was written by American author John Ball (1911-1988). In his book, Ball introduces the Virgil Tibbs character, who went on to appear in five more novels. The movie won the 1968 Academy Award for Best Motion Picture and spawned to two sequels, They Call Me Mister Tibbs! (1970) and The Organization (1971) as well as a TV series, In the Heat of the Night (1988).

Gum. The director wanted Gillespie to chew gum to establish a link to a notorious southern sheriff who chewed tobacco. Steiger protested until he realized that he could use it to provide insight into his moods and thought processes. It is said that he chewed 263 packs of gum.

The final scene (as the credits roll) starts with a closeup of Virgil in the window of the train. As the scene progresses, the camera backs off further and further, finally shooting the train from high up in the air. Although it hasn't been confirmed, the shot was most likely made from a helicopter. Also, if you watch closely, you can see that the closeup of Virgil in the window was shot using a zoom lens. The camera is actually in a much further distance from the train. First, it zooms out, only then it begins to back off.

It was filmed in Sparta, Illinois. The bridge scene was at Chester, Illinois on the Mississippi River between Illinois and Missouri. Incidentally, the train depot has been restored to its former glory and is now an art museum with a section devoted to the film (movie posters, scripts, autographed photos, etc.). Mama Caleba's grocery store, which was near the depot, is gone, but the downtown area is said to look pretty much the same.