Detective Virgil Tibbs, now a lieutenant with the San Francisco police, is assigned to investigate the murder of a prostitute. A prime suspect is Reverend Logan Sharpe, a liberal street preacher who is leading one of the sides in a city referendum on an urban renewal project. He tells Tibbs he was visiting the prostitute in his professional capacity, to advise her spiritually, and that when he left her apartment she was alive and healthy. Tibbs tracks down and questions the janitor from the victim's building, Mealie Williamson, and Woody Garfield, a shady character who owns the building and might have been the dead woman's pimp, who sent the janitor into hiding. Later, suspicion falls on a hood named Rice Weedon, who is pursued and shot by Tibbs in self-defense. Tibbs’ ongoing investigation leads him to conclude that Sharpe really is the murderer. When confronted, Sharpe confesses; however he requests that Tibbs not arrest him for 24 hours, until the polls close on the city referendum. When Tibbs refuses, Sharpe, while being taken away to be arrested, purposefully steps in front of a moving vehicle and is killed.
wrote the score, as he did with In the Heat of the Night, although the tone of the music in both is markedly different. The previous film, owing to its setting, had a country and bluesy sound, whereas his work for this film was in the funkmilieu that would become Jones' trademark in the early 1970s.
The film's title was taken from Virgil's assertive response in In the Heat of the Night, after the sheriff mockingly asked him what people call him in the city where he works. It was followed by a third film called The Organization. The film was the last appearance of veteran actor Juano Hernández, who died in July 1970, a few days after the film premiered.
Reception
The film has a 60% rating on Rotten Tomatoes as of June 2009. It did not attract nearly as positive a response as the series' 1967 debut, In the Heat of the Night, which won five Academy Awards including the 1967 Best Picture Oscar.
The film score was composed, arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones, and the soundtrack album was released on the United Artists label in 1970. Allmusic's Steven McDonald said "They Call Me Misters Tibbs! had a more open, urban attitude from its San Francisco setting. The music throughout has an edge, with some interesting musical experiments going on... Jones, as one example, used cimbalom to reflect Tibbs' feelings".
Track listing
All compositions by Quincy Jones
"Call Me Mister Tibbs " − 4:33
"'Rev' Logan " − 2:12
"Blues for Mister Tibbs" − 6:27
"Fat Poppadaddy" − 3:28
"Soul Flower" − 4:20
"Call Me Mister Tibbs " − 2:15
"Black Cherry" − 2:15
"Family Man" − 1:20
"Side Pocket" − 2:05
"Why, Daddy?" − 3:08
"Call Me Mister Tibbs " − 0:46
Personnel
Unidentified orchestra arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones
