THEY CALL ME MR. POITIER
Born in Miami in 1927, raised on Cat Island in the Bahamas, Sidney Poitier—actor, director, activist, ambassador, Knight of the British Empire—commanded attention almost as soon as he stepped in front of a camera. Galvanizing on stage and screen, Poitier's characters confront numerous challenges in good faith, while slyly daring his opponents to deny him and reveal his fierce intelligence, pride and resilience. The Heights and Trylon Roadshow are proud to present four of Poitier's best, including three films from 1967, when he was America's biggest box-office star.
IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT
May 12, 2022, 7:30 p.m.
DIGITAL CINEMA PRESENTATION
A small Mississippi town's wealthiest citizen is found murdered on the street late at night, so police chief Bill Gillespie (Rod Stieger, who won an Oscar for this role) arrests a Black man waiting at the train station. Big mistake. Chief Gillespie, meet Philadelphia detective Virgil Tibbs (Poitier), whose new misfortune is being forced into the investigation, while confronting bigotry, complicity and the local police force's general ineptitude. Nominated for 7 Oscars (not for Poitier, though), and regarded as one of the 100 greatest films of all-time by Akira Kurosawa, In the Heat of the Night is a blistering neo-noir anchored by Poitier's slow-boil performance.
Presented by The Heights Theater and The Trylon Cinema.
DCP courtesy Park Circus
TO SIR WITH LOVE
May 19, 2022, 7:30 p.m.
DIGITAL CINEMA PRESENTATION
While waiting on an engineering job to come through, Mark Thackaray (Poitier) must take a teaching job in London's East End. Little does he know that North Quay Secondary School is a dumping ground for expelled and rebellious teens. But this seething group of malcontents has met its match in Thackaray, whose very unconventional, emotional, and at times confrontational style wins them over. Part of the late-60s pop culture "British Invasion" that charmed America, To Sir, with Love spawned Lulu's eponymous hit single and proved that Poitier was not only capable of great range... but that the man was downright hip.
Presented by The Heights Theater and The Trylon Cinema.
DCP courtesy Sony Pictures.
GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER
May 26, 2022, 7:30 p.m.
DIGITAL CINEMA PRESENTATION
Joanna Drayton (Katharine Houghton), 23, returns from a Hawaiian vacation with her new lover and fiance, Dr. John Wade Prentice (Poitier), 36, and she's eager to show him off to her progressive San Francisco parents, Christina and Matt (Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy). That's big trouble in 1967, for Joanna's white and John is Black and no one, from the Drayton's housekeeper to Dr. Prentice's stern father, knows what to make of the situation. The last Tracy-Hepburn film is perhaps a bit dated in its social commentary by today's standards, but remains a delightful comedy of manners and a lovely romance. Hepburn won an Oscar as did the original screenplay.
Presented by The Heights Theater and The Trylon Cinema.
DCP courtesy Sony Pictures.
