Movies Like In the Heat of the Night (1967)

In the Heat of the Night is a 1967 crime, drama, mystery, thriller film from Norman Jewison with a MovieMagicScore of 7.6/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with They Call Me Mister Tibbs! and The Organization.

Crime Drama Mystery Thriller

They Call Me Mister Tibbs!

1970

A police detective's investigation of a prostitute's murder points to his best friend.

5.8

MagicScore

The Organization

1971

After a group of young revolutionaries break into a company's corporate headquarters and steal $5,000,000 worth of heroin to keep it off the street, they call on San Francisco Police Lieutenant Virgil Tibbs for assistance.

6.1

MagicScore

The Intruder

1962

A man in a gleaming white suit comes to a small Southern town on the eve of integration. He calls himself a social reformer. But what he does is stir up trouble--trouble he soon finds he can't control.

7.1

MagicScore

Welcome to Leith

2015

In September 2012, the tiny prairie town of Leith, North Dakota, sees its population of 24 grow by one. As the new resident's behavior becomes more threatening, tensions soar, and the residents desperately look for ways to expel their unwanted neighbor.

6.6

MagicScore

Remember the Titans

2000

After leading his football team to 15 winning seasons, coach Bill Yoast is demoted and replaced by Herman Boone – tough, opinionated and as different from the beloved Yoast as he could be. The two men learn to overcome their differences and turn a group of hostile young men into champions.

7.6

MagicScore

Rampart

2011

The story follows veteran police officer Dave Brown, the last of the renegade cops, as he struggles to take care of his family, and fights for his own survival.

5.4

MagicScore

Ghosts of Mississippi

1996

A Mississippi district attorney and the widow of Medgar Evers struggle to bring a white supremacist to justice for the 1963 murder of the civil rights leader.

6.6

MagicScore

A Raisin in the Sun

1961

Walter Lee Younger is a young man struggling with his station in life. Sharing a tiny apartment with his wife, son, sister and mother, he seems like an imprisoned man. Until, that is, the family gets an unexpected financial windfall.

7.7

MagicScore

The Liberation of L.B. Jones

1970

A successful African American businessman has a quarrel with a white policeman, suspecting that he is having an affair with his wife. The policeman's colleagues are seeking to avoid publicity.

5.8

MagicScore

#10

My Cousin Vinny

1992

Two carefree pals from Brooklyn traveling through rural Alabama on their way back to college are mistakenly arrested, and charged with murder. Fortunately, one of them has a cousin who's a lawyer - Vincent Gambini, a former auto mechanic from Brooklyn who just passed his bar exam after his sixth try. When he arrives with his leather-clad girlfriend, to try his first case, it's a real shock - for him and the Deep South!

7.5

MagicScore

#11

Mr. Moto in Danger Island

1939

In Puerto Rico to investigate a glut of contraband diamonds that are flooding the world's jewel market, Mr. Moto and his sidekick, a wrestler, find themselves involved in murders by thrown daggers, the frame-up of an overstressed Army colonel, and a pirate gang led by an unknown boss who has inside knowledge of the ensuing investigation.

6.6

MagicScore

#12

Rosewood

1997

Spurred by a white woman's lie, vigilantes destroy a black Florida town and slay inhabitants in 1923.

6.5

MagicScore

#13

Betrayed

1988

An FBI agent posing as a combine driver becomes romantically involved with a Midwest farmer who lives a double life as a white supremacist.

6.0

MagicScore

#14

Man on a Swing

1974

When a young schoolteacher is found dead in her car in a parking lot in broad daylight, police chief Lee Tucker can find no clues pointing to her killer. Flamboyant self-proclaimed psychic Franklin Wills offers his help to the skeptical policeman, and, when his supposed visions about the case begin to reveal clues and information that only the killer could possibly have known, he becomes a suspect himself.

5.8

MagicScore

#15

Found

2012

Marty is the ideal fifth grader—he gets good grades, listens to his teachers and doesn't start trouble in class. But a darkness is beginning to fall over Marty's life, the kids at school won't stop picking on him, his parents just don't seem to understand him, and now Marty must grapple with a terrible secret that threatens to destroy life as he knows it—his big brother is a serial killer.

6.4

MagicScore

#16

A Time to Kill

1996

A young lawyer defends a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his 10-year-old daughter, sparking a rebirth of the KKK.

7.4

MagicScore

#17

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

1958

An alcoholic ex-football player drinks his days away, having failed to come to terms with his sexuality and his real feelings for his football buddy who died after an ambiguous accident. His wife is crucified by her desperation to make him desire her: but he resists the affections of his wife. His reunion with his father—who is dying of cancer—jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.

7.6

MagicScore

#18

Thelma & Louise

1991

Taking a break from their dreary lives, close friends Thelma and Louise embark on a short weekend trip that ends in unforeseen incriminating circumstances. As fugitives, both women rediscover the strength of their bond and their newfound resilience.

7.6

MagicScore

#19

Diary of a Chambermaid

1964

Celestine has a new job as a chambermaid for the quirky M. Monteil, his wife and her father. When the father dies, Celestine decides to quit her job and leave, but when a young girl is raped and murdered, Celestine believes that the Monteils' groundskeeper, Joseph, is guilty, and stays on in order to prove it. She uses her sexuality and the promise of marriage to get Joseph to confess -- but things do not go as planned.

7.1

MagicScore

#20

Till

2022

The true story of Mamie Till Mobley’s relentless pursuit of justice for her 14 year old son, Emmett Till, who, in 1955, was lynched while visiting his cousins in Mississippi.

7.3

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like In the Heat of the Night?

The top films similar to In the Heat of the Night by MovieMagicScore are They Call Me Mister Tibbs! (5.8), The Organization (6.1), The Intruder (7.1). Each shares crime/drama/mystery/thriller themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is In the Heat of the Night worth watching?

In the Heat of the Night holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.6/10 from 1,171 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is In the Heat of the Night?

In the Heat of the Night (1967) is a crime, drama, mystery, thriller film directed by Norman Jewison, starring Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oates.

Where can I find more recommendations like In the Heat of the Night?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more crime recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like They Call Me Mister Tibbs!Movies like The Organization Movies like The Intruder Movies like Welcome to Leith Movies like Remember the Titans Movies like Rampart

About movies like In the Heat of the Night

This ranked list pairs In the Heat of the Night (1967), a crime and drama and mystery and thriller film from Norman Jewison, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Sidney Poitier take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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