The film contains the famous scene in which Tibbs and Gillespie visit the home of Eric Endicott to question him, following Tibbs’ discovery of trace evidence in the murder victim’s car. Upon discovering that Tibbs is suggesting he murdered Colbert, Endicott slaps Tibbs. Tibbs slaps him back. Reportedly, Tibbs’ action was originally omitted from the screenplay, which stayed true to the novel with Tibbs not reacting to the slap. However, when Sidney Poitier read the script he was purportedly uncomfortable with that reaction, as it wasn’t true to the values his parents instilled in him. He requested that the producers alter the scene to Tibbs slapping Endicott back. This was important due to the ongoing battle for civil rights, which was still raging in 1967, despite the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This was one of the first times in any major motion picture where a black man reacted to provocation from a white man in such a way. Referring to the scene Poitier said, “[The scene] was almost not there. I said, ‘I’ll tell you what, I’ll make this movie for you if you give me your absolute guarantee when he slaps me I slap him right back and you guarantee that it will play in every version of this movie.’ I try not to do things that are against nature. I stayed away from films that didn’t speak well of my values. I could only say yes to films if I passed it by my dad. I passed it by my father because I did not want ever to make a film that would not reflect positively on my father’s life.” (Wikipedia)

Notes

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