The Organization (film)
Encyclopedia
The Organization is a 1971 film starring Sidney Poitier
as Virgil Tibbs
. It was the last of the trilogy featuring the police detective Tibbs that had begun with In the Heat of the Night (1967). In it Tibbs is called in to hunt down a gang of urban revolutionaries, suspected of a series of crimes. The title refers to a drug-trafficking organization Tibbs is pursuing in the film.
of a company
, the police
are called in. One of the executives has been murdered, and the watchman
has been bludgeoned. It is not a simple robbery, the man was killed by shots from two different guns, there are several unexplained facts and nothing was stolen.
Virgil Tibbs
(Poitier
)is contacted by the organization which committed the break-in, stealing 4 million dollars worth of heroin. They are urban revolutionaries
who explain that the company is a front for drug-dealing. They had hoped the break-in would lead the police to investigate the company itself and want to use the heroin to get to the leaders of the organization. Tibbs arrests the security guard to question him, but he is murdered while in the police car.
Tibbs agrees to help the group, if they co-operate with him. One member of the group is hunted down and beaten by the drug-pushers, another is murdered. Tibbs himself comes under suspicion from his superiors when the narcotics division tie him to these stolen drugs, he is removed from the case, and suspended.
He persuades one of his colleagues to help him with information on the bogus company behind the drug traffic. One of the revolutionaries, Juan, contacts the drug dealers and offers them the drugs back for $500,000. He sets its up smartly, proposing to exchange the first half of the drugs for half the money, with an exchange with identical suitcases in a very busy square.
Once the exchange takes place one of the other revolutionaries ´robs´ the suitcase with the money. The drug dealer tries to get away, gets tackled by Juan, the drug dealer shoots a policeman but gets arrested. Juan notes the numberplate of the executives of the criminal organization that had carelessly come to supervise the deal. The person running off with the suitcase with the money is pursued by some of the gang through an underground building site for the subway system. Tibbs was also there, there is an amusing chase.
Tibbs after that goes to the house of the wife of the security guard. When Tibbs' colleague arrives, Tibbs confronts the wife as the runner of the gang, shows heroin in a package she has just brought home and tells her she can choose between prison or getting killed by the mob like her husband. She gives in and identifies the two chiefs of the organization.
The chiefs are arrested by a large group of police officers, including Tibbs. When they are taken to the police car, a mob hit man takes them out, before they can talk. Tibbs now sees that he won a battle, but lost the war.
: although there was good work put in, the film did not have a strong story, a thing critics noticed straight away. It would be another sequel that failed. After this movie, Poitier moved to doing dramas and comedies, most of them he would direct himself, while distancing himself from the character of Tibbs to make sure he would not be typecast in the role again. The move was well timed as the blaxploitation
film began to appear, dominated by films like Shaft
, and Super Fly. The character of Virgil Tibbs was not seen again until the TV show In the Heat of the Night
premiered in 1988s, this time with Howard Rollins
as Virgil Tibbs.
.
Sidney Poitier
Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE is a Bahamian American actor, film director, author, and diplomat.In 1963, Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field...
as Virgil Tibbs
Virgil Tibbs
Virgil Tibbs is a fictional character who is one of the two leading male characters in John Ball's 1965 novel In the Heat of the Night. He is also the protagonist in six sequels to that novel, the Oscar-winning 1967 film of the same name based on the original novel, the sequel films They Call Me...
. It was the last of the trilogy featuring the police detective Tibbs that had begun with In the Heat of the Night (1967). In it Tibbs is called in to hunt down a gang of urban revolutionaries, suspected of a series of crimes. The title refers to a drug-trafficking organization Tibbs is pursuing in the film.
Plot
After a break-in at the headquartersHeadquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
of a company
Company
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
, the police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
are called in. One of the executives has been murdered, and the watchman
Security guard
A security guard is a person who is paid to protect property, assets, or people. Security guards are usually privately and formally employed personnel...
has been bludgeoned. It is not a simple robbery, the man was killed by shots from two different guns, there are several unexplained facts and nothing was stolen.
Virgil Tibbs
Virgil Tibbs
Virgil Tibbs is a fictional character who is one of the two leading male characters in John Ball's 1965 novel In the Heat of the Night. He is also the protagonist in six sequels to that novel, the Oscar-winning 1967 film of the same name based on the original novel, the sequel films They Call Me...
(Poitier
Sidney Poitier
Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE is a Bahamian American actor, film director, author, and diplomat.In 1963, Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field...
)is contacted by the organization which committed the break-in, stealing 4 million dollars worth of heroin. They are urban revolutionaries
Urban revolution
In anthropology and archaeology, the Urban Revolution is the process by which small, kin-based, nonliterate agricultural villages were transformed into large, socially complex, urban societies....
who explain that the company is a front for drug-dealing. They had hoped the break-in would lead the police to investigate the company itself and want to use the heroin to get to the leaders of the organization. Tibbs arrests the security guard to question him, but he is murdered while in the police car.
Tibbs agrees to help the group, if they co-operate with him. One member of the group is hunted down and beaten by the drug-pushers, another is murdered. Tibbs himself comes under suspicion from his superiors when the narcotics division tie him to these stolen drugs, he is removed from the case, and suspended.
He persuades one of his colleagues to help him with information on the bogus company behind the drug traffic. One of the revolutionaries, Juan, contacts the drug dealers and offers them the drugs back for $500,000. He sets its up smartly, proposing to exchange the first half of the drugs for half the money, with an exchange with identical suitcases in a very busy square.
Once the exchange takes place one of the other revolutionaries ´robs´ the suitcase with the money. The drug dealer tries to get away, gets tackled by Juan, the drug dealer shoots a policeman but gets arrested. Juan notes the numberplate of the executives of the criminal organization that had carelessly come to supervise the deal. The person running off with the suitcase with the money is pursued by some of the gang through an underground building site for the subway system. Tibbs was also there, there is an amusing chase.
Tibbs after that goes to the house of the wife of the security guard. When Tibbs' colleague arrives, Tibbs confronts the wife as the runner of the gang, shows heroin in a package she has just brought home and tells her she can choose between prison or getting killed by the mob like her husband. She gives in and identifies the two chiefs of the organization.
The chiefs are arrested by a large group of police officers, including Tibbs. When they are taken to the police car, a mob hit man takes them out, before they can talk. Tibbs now sees that he won a battle, but lost the war.
Cast
- Sidney PoitierSidney PoitierSir Sidney Poitier, KBE is a Bahamian American actor, film director, author, and diplomat.In 1963, Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field...
- Virgil TibbsVirgil TibbsVirgil Tibbs is a fictional character who is one of the two leading male characters in John Ball's 1965 novel In the Heat of the Night. He is also the protagonist in six sequels to that novel, the Oscar-winning 1967 film of the same name based on the original novel, the sequel films They Call Me... - Barbara McNairBarbara McNairBarbara McNair was an African American singer and actress.Born Barbara Jean McNair in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Racine, Wisconsin, McNair studied music at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago...
- Valerie - Gerald S. O'LoughlinGerald S. O'LoughlinGerald Stuart O'Loughlin, Jr. is an American television, stage, and film actor and director who was primarily known for playing tough-talking and rough-looking characters.-Career:...
- Lieutenant Pecora - Sheree NorthSheree NorthSheree North was an American actress, singer, and dancer. She was known for being 20th Century Fox's answer to Marilyn Monroe from 1954 to 1956...
- Mrs Morgan - Fred BeirFred BeirFrederick Beir was an American actor, mostly on television.He made guest appearances on TV series like Bonanza, Perry Mason, Maverick, The Andy Griffith Show, Wagon Train, The Twilight Zone, Ben Casey, The Outer Limits, The Munsters, The Time Tunnel, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Mission: Impossible, Hawaii...
- Bob Alford - Raúl JuliáRaúl JuliáRaúl Rafael Juliá y Arcelay was a Puerto Rican actor.Born in San Juan, he gained interest in acting while still in school. Upon completing his studies, Juliá decided to pursue a career in acting. After performing in the local scene for some time, he was convinced by entertainment personality Orson...
- Juan - James A. Watson Jr. - Stacy Baker
Reception
Released in 1971, The Organization would have the same problem as They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!
They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! is a 1970 film; a sequel to In the Heat of the Night . Sidney Poitier reprised his role of police detective Virgil Tibbs, though in this sequel, Tibbs is working for the San Francisco Police rather than the Philadelphia Police or the Pasadena Police .-Plot:The plot...
: although there was good work put in, the film did not have a strong story, a thing critics noticed straight away. It would be another sequel that failed. After this movie, Poitier moved to doing dramas and comedies, most of them he would direct himself, while distancing himself from the character of Tibbs to make sure he would not be typecast in the role again. The move was well timed as the blaxploitation
Blaxploitation
Blaxploitation or blacksploitation is a film genre which emerged in the United States circa 1970. It is considered an ethnic sub-genre of the general category of exploitation films. Blaxploitation films were originally made specifically for an urban black audience, although the genre's audience...
film began to appear, dominated by films like Shaft
Shaft (1971 film)
Shaft is a 1971 American blaxploitation film directed by Gordon Parks, released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. An action film with elements of film noir, Shaft tells the story of a black private detective, John Shaft, who travels through Harlem and to the Italian mob neighborhoods in order to find the...
, and Super Fly. The character of Virgil Tibbs was not seen again until the TV show In the Heat of the Night
In the Heat of the Night (TV series)
In the Heat of the Night is a television series based on the motion picture and novel of the same name. It was broadcast on NBC from 1988 until 1992, and then on CBS until 1995...
premiered in 1988s, this time with Howard Rollins
Howard Rollins
Howard Ellsworth Rollins, Jr. was an American television, film, and stage actor. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Coalhouse Walker, Jr...
as Virgil Tibbs.
Release on DVD & HD
It was released on Region One DVD in 2001 and in Region Two in 2003. In 2010 it was digitized in High Definition (1080i) and broadcasted on MGM HDMGM HD
MGM HD is an all high-definition television channel. It features commercial-free movies from MGM's library of approximately 1,200 movies mastered in a high-definition-compatible format as well as feature films from their library of 4,100 theatrical titles...
.