The Organization (film)
The Organization is a 1971 DeLuxe Color American crime thriller film starring Sidney Poitier as Virgil Tibbs and directed by Don Medford. It was the last of the trilogy featuring the police detective Tibbs that had begun with In the Heat of the Night (1967) and continued with They Call Me Mister Tibbs! (1970). In it Tibbs is called in to hunt down a gang of urban revolutionaries, suspected of a series of crimes. The screenplay was penned by James R. Webb, and the film co-stars Barbara McNair, Gerald S. O'Laughlin, Sheree North and Raul Julia.
| The Organization | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Don Medford |
| Produced by | Walter Mirisch |
| Written by | John Ball James Webb |
| Starring | Sidney Poitier Barbara McNair |
| Music by | Gil Melle |
| Cinematography | Joseph Biroc |
| Edited by | Ferris Webster |
Production company | Mirisch Productions, Inc. |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
|
Running time | 106 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
After a break-in at the San Francisco headquarters of a company, the police are called in. One of the executives has been murdered, and the security guard has been bludgeoned. It is not a simple robbery, as the executive was killed by shots from two different guns, nothing was stolen, and there are several other unexplained facts.
Virgil Tibbs (Poitier) is contacted by the group which committed the break-in and stole four 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 the guard is murdered while sitting 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 and another is murdered. Tibbs himself comes under suspicion from his superiors when the narcotics division tie him to the stolen drugs, whereupon 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 it up smartly, proposing to exchange the first half of the drugs for half the money, using identical suitcases in a very busy square.
Once the exchange takes place one of the other revolutionaries 'robs' the suitcase containing the money. The drug dealer shoots a policeman and tries to get away but is tackled by Juan and arrested. Juan notes the license plate on the car of the criminal executive who had come to supervise the deal. The revolutionary escapes with money, pursued by some of the gang through the construction site for the unfinished Montgomery Street Station.
Tibbs goes to the house of the wife of the security guard. When Tibbs' colleague arrives, Tibbs confronts the wife, accuses her of being a runner for the gang, shows heroin in a package she has just brought home, and tells her she can choose between prison or being 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 is losing a war.
Cast
- Sidney Poitier as Virgil Tibbs
- Barbara McNair as Valerie
- Gerald S. O'Loughlin as Lieutenant Pecora
- Sheree North as Mrs Morgan
- Fred Beir as Bob Alford
- Raúl Juliá as Juan
- James A. Watson Jr. as Stacy Baker
- Ron O'Neal as Joe Peralez
- Bernie Hamilton as Lt Jessop
Release on DVD and HD
The Organization was released on Region One DVD in 2001 and in Region Two in 2003.[1] In 2010 it was digitized in High Definition (1080i) and broadcast on MGM HD.
Critical response
The film received largely poor reviews from critics, with Roger Ebert giving it a two-star review and stating that "the plot is not exactly believable",[2] while A.H. Weiler in The New York Times wrote "The Organization can be rough on super-city sleuths as well as movie-goers who've been through much the same melodramatics before".[3]
See also
References
- "The Organization released in Region 1 and Region 2". September 8, 2004. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
- Ebert, Roger (November 23, 1971). "The Organization movie review (1971)". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved May 27, 2020 – via RogerEbert.com.
- Weiler, A. H. (October 21, 1971). "Four Features Begin Their Runs Here:Poitier Is Virgil Tibbs in 'The Organization'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 4, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2020.