Few movie stars enjoyed the laurels or faced the criticisms that Sidney Poitier did, a historic Best Actor winner and a man accused of abetting all of hollywood’s fantasies of easy racial reconciliation. He played many a saintly character on screen before playing hollywood’s first black (and decidedly self-assured) detective in Norman Jewison’s In the Heat of the Night. This novel role would allow him to embody the discontent of being black in late 60’s America, and audiences were more than ready for it — they made him the biggest box office draw of the year.

We reflect on how the film has aged, how quickly and dramatically the film landscape was changing with New Hollywood youngsters around the corner, and what it meant to bring together a talented production team that included Quincy Jones, Ray Charles, Hal Ashby, and Haskell Wexler.

Next week: Wavelength (1967) by Michael Snow

UnauthorizedPod.com for more. Hosted by Zachary Domes and J Brooks Young. Music by hetchy