On Wednesday, April 3, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. arrived in Memphis, Tennessee, and checked into room 306 of the Lorraine Motel. He had planned to participate in a peaceful march with the city’s sanitation workers, who were on strike. However, by 7:05pm of the following night, April 4, Dr. King was dead, shot by an assassin as he stood on the balcony outside his hotel room. The Academy Awards ceremony, scheduled to air on the same evening as the sanitation workers’ march, was postponed to Wednesday, April 10. The show opened with Gregory Peck, then Academy president, giving the following remarks:

“This has been a fateful week in the history of our nation. We join with fellow members of our profession and men of goodwill everywhere in paying our profound respects to the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Society has always been reflected in its art. And one measure of Dr. King’s influence on the society we live in is that, of the five films nominated for Best Picture of the Year, two dealt with the subject of understanding between the races. It was his work and his dedication that brought about the increasing awareness of all men that we must unite in compassion in order to survive. A lasting memorial that we of the motion picture community can build to Dr. King is to continue making films which celebrate the dignity of man, whatever his race or color or creed.”

Aides to Martin Luther King point to the area from where they heard the shot that killed King, lying on balcony, in Memphis, Tenn. April 4, 1968. This photo was released by Life magazine, which obtained it from photographer Joseph Louw, a TV producer who was in a motel room two doors from King’s when he heard the shot.(AP Photo) (cjc21200fls) 1992 Eds: Copyright 1968 Time Inc. MO MO

The nominated films of 1967, as Peck noted, truly do reflect the turbulent times in which they were made. Prior to King’s murder, the country had been rocked by the failed Tet Offensive in the seemingly endless Vietnam War, as well as President Johnson’s announcement that he would not seek reelection. King’s death was swiftly followed by that of Robert Kennedy, himself a civil rights advocate (and presidential hopeful); and the rest of the year 1968 brought more violence and killing.

Film-wise, at the 1968 Academy Awards, the top contenders split the awards just like the tragedies and conflicts mentioned above were dividing the country. Each of the following films won at least two Oscars: Bonnie and Clyde, Camelot, Doctor Doolittle, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, and In the Heat of the Night. Cool Hand Luke, The Dirty Dozen, The Graduate, and Thoroughly Modern Millie each took home one statuette. It was a big year for film with a lot of competition for the eventual Best Picture winner, In The Heat Of The Night (1967, Mirisch Corporation Production; United Artists). At the end of the night, In the Heat of the Night had won five of the seven categories in which it was nominated: Film Editing, Sound, Writing (Screenplay—based on material from another medium), Actor for Rod Steiger as Gillespie, and Best Picture (it failed to win for Sound Effects and Directing).

Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) and Gillespie (Rod Steiger) work together to solve the murder of a prominent small-town businessman.

Based on John Ball’s award-winning novel of the same name, In the Heat of the Night was the first murder-mystery/detective film to win the Academy’s highest honor. It also features Sidney Poitier, the first African-American man to win an Academy Award (for 1963’s Lilies of the Field). Poitier is solid in his performance as Virgil Tibbs, the Philadelphia detective who finds himself embroiled in a murder investigation in a small, prejudiced Southern town. His most famous line from the film, “They call me MR. Tibbs,” is chock-full with implications regarding identity, racial inequality, and self-pride–all concepts that run throughout the film. The movie could not have been released at a better time, for the story of Virgil’s treatment by those who judge him by the color of his skin includes a hint of what life could be like if people were judged instead by “the content of their character.” In its own way, then, this film honors Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy of peaceful protest for racial equality and the dream of a better tomorrow.

For more thoughts on In the Heat of the Night and its significance, please check out the full post this weekend!