Selected by the Producers Branch.

Sidney Poitier secured his position as a top star with his electric portrayal of Virgil Tibbs, a brilliant Philadelphia police detective who finds himself teaming up with a small-town sheriff (Rod Steiger in an Oscar-winning performance) to solve a murder in a Mississippi town in this witty and stylish mystery which won the 1967 Best Picture Oscar for veteran producer Walter Mirisch. Norman Jewison was nominated for his effortless direction, and other major collaborators on this quotable classic include composer Quincy Jones and cinematographer Haskell Wexler, with writer Stirling Silliphant and film editor Hal Ashby also winning Oscars for their contributions.