Poor Mr Endicott.

[edbermac]

I was watching In The Heat Of The Night a few days ago. With the Confederate flag, ACA and now gay marriage this scene comes to mind. There are Endicotts all over America weeping bitter tears at the thought of their country now sliding into oblivion.

"There was a time..."

[napkinz]

1. he looks a little like Cheney

[monmouth4]

2. Yes, he really does...n/t

[napkinz]

4. both are despicable

[malthaussen]

10. Nothing despicable about Larry Gates.

Let's not confuse the man and the role, eh?

-- Mal

[malthaussen]

3. Pretty heavy scene

Especially when Endicott asks Gillespie what he's going to do about it, and Gillespie replies "I don't know." Then when the Chief and Mr Tibbs are talking later, Gillespie reminds Tibbs that he is not so different from Endicott after all.

You might find this link interesting: http://www.dga.org/Craft/DGAQ/All-Articles/1101-Spring-2011/Shot-to-Remember-Norman-Jewison.aspx

-- Mal

[cyberswede]

5. I thought I heard that Poitier was the one to suggest that slap.

I always thought it was a key scene defining his character.

[malthaussen]

6. I added a link to Jewison's account of the scene.

No mention of Sidney suggesting the slap.

-- Mal

[cyberswede]

7. I thought RObert Osborn mentioned it on TCM the other day...

and I found this, too:

Tibbs’s returning slap almost did not make it into the film. During the time the film was made, the Civil Rights Movement was going on. Sidney Poitier requested that it be added into the script despite the fact that by doing so, the film wouldn’t be true to the novel which it was based on. However, Poitier mentioned that allowing his character to do nothing after the slap would be going against the values which his parents had instilled in him. Basically, blacks began to lower their tolerance level of whites’ mistreatment and slowly gained more respect and authority as the Civil Rights Movement continued.

https://fysingram.wordpress.com/2009/10/01/the-famous-slap-scene/

...but also:

Poitier and Silliphant disagree over whether Tibbs' slapping Endicott was in the shooting script. Silliphant insists it was, but Poitier states that he had it added during shooting and made Jewison guarantee it would stay in the final print. According to Mark Harris, who wrote of the film in his Pictures at a Revolution, the slaps were always in the screenplay.

http://www.tcm.com/essentials/article.html?cid=961532&mainArticleId=961517

[malthaussen]

8. Interesting.

Considering that Jewison appears to consider the scene as pivitol in the characterization of Tibbs, you'd think he might have said something about the slap being in contention.

-- Mal

[msongs]

9. interesting read about the scene. thk for posting it nt