Why would Tibb's chief in Philadelphia even consider allowing Tibb's to assist in the murder investigation knowing he was in the deep south, he is black and it was during one of the most turbulent racial times in history? Regardless of whether or not he was the best homicide detective he had, knowing the racial climate at the time, especially in small town Mississippi would certainly be putting life Tibb's at risk.
shareChief knew as a similar character said in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, some will see him as a Black man, but he sees himself as a man. At the end of the day, he got through.
shareMore important, why give up your top homicide expert for an indeterminate period of time to solve a murder in the middle of nowhere, that will not benefit your department, especially if Sparta's police chief seems so eager to go without your help?
I suspect Chief Gillespie said something in that phone call we aren't privy to, and which he doesn't speak of with Tibbs or his officers, regarding some doubts the crime could be solved without bringing in some big-city brainpower. In other words, while denigrating "Virgil" to his face, Gillespie was working to keep the guy around without letting anyone in his office know about it.
Slokes...That makes sense. Love your analysis.
shareThat actually fits well with the Chief’s subsequent question to Tibbs “…or do I need to call your Chief and have him remind you what he told you to do?”
shareYou could look at it several ways. The Chief thinks he is valuable and wants him to help. Or, as others have speculated, Gillespie secretly asks for his help and gets it, but acts like he doesn't want Virgil around. The other possibility is that the Chief doesn't like Virgil, and thinks that chasing around a racist redneck town is suitable punishment for a Philadelphia PD man who gets out of line out of town.
If this is supposed to be contemporary to when it was filmed, the "chief" would have been Police Commissioner Frank Rizzo who has a pretty sketchy racial reputation and likely would have told Gillespie to do whatever he needed to do.
I think most of you here would have failed the Chief Of Police exam.
Ephemeron.
Oh, do explain.
sharewell, briefly
A police force is a Para- military organization. A chief officer would have skills that include command and coordination among employees, respect and trust in his employees and a sense of action in solving problems. A chief officer, either in the military or in Public Service should have those skills.
In this case putting his best detective on a murder, even if it isn’t in his jurisdiction. Help them out, this is a big deal.
Even in 1967 I was assuming the tests given to find the right person for such a job in a big city, like Philadelphia, would include test questions that would indicate someone with such traits!
If a person had to ask why you would do that, then they apparently haven’t thought along those lines and therefore would not get the job.
Of course the other answer to the question of why would his Police Chief tell him to cooperate with the Sparta Police is so the story could move along……
Ephemeron.
In other words it's all professional? Are you saying that Tibbs being a black officer and being sent into hostile territory wouldn't be factored in somewhere? As in "let me send a couple of our guys with you to watch your back?" Seems a shame to solve one murder only to cause another.
shareIF I conceded to your argument that it was the wrong decision for Tibbs' Chief to make then it is up to you to present to us a different plot device that gets Tibbs working on the case.
I was just arguing why a Police Chief in a big city might make that call.
It wasn't that far fetched.
Ephemeron.
Sorry, I wasn't being critical of you hypothesis. Only of Tibbs chief.
shareThe chief saw that there was a murder in the town, his top homicide expert was there. Hence, he wanted his guy to help, to protect and serve. That was all.
You’re right that Tibbs was in the Deep South as a black man. But the chief might have been a white guy who grew up in the North, sitting behind some desk in a fancy office. He probably didn’t understand the significance of Tibbs being in the South