The Organization (1971)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Of the films starring the immortal character Virgil Tibbs, The Organization is the third and final installment. Don't worry, though; Sidney Poitier made a lot of movies where he played an agent or a detective, so you can keep watching him save the day. It's not necessary, but you'll probably want to watch In the Heat of the Night first, and depending on how much you liked it, They Call Me Mister Tibbs. In this one, Sidney is drawn into a radical group who want to expose and destroy "the organization". It doesn't really feel like the first two films, though. It feels a little more like a mediocre detective movie with the normal amount of violence, law-breaking, explosions, and gun-waving.Believe it or not, my main criticism with the film is one others might not even notice. When Barbara McNair asks her husband what's going on, since she's concerned for his safety after the violence and death threats in the beginning of the film, Sidney's response is to say, "Honey, make me a sandwich," and wink at her. As handsome as he is, if I were his wife, I wouldn't have been happy at his answer. She's married to a famous detective who's been featured in two other films, he's constantly the target of violent groups and criminals, and even if he weren't famous, he's chosen a dangerous profession. It's not unreasonable for her to worry, or for her to ask for more information! When Sidney blew her off, I lost a little respect for him and a little interest in the film as a whole.

RELEASED IN 1971-72 and directed by Don Medford, "The Organization" features detective Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) working in San Francisco where he encounters a noble radical group who want to take down a crime syndicate that deals in heroin. Barbara McNair plays Virgil's wife while Raul Julia & Ron O'Neal play two of the vigilantes. This was the third and final Virgil Tibbs movie, which happened to be the first detective movie series in color to go three films (or so they say). Between the first film, "In the Heat of the Night" (1967), and the second film, "They Call Me Mr. Tibbs" (1970), Tibbs transferred from Philadelphia to San Francisco and now had a family (he was single in the first film). This was perhaps done due to the success of "Bullitt" (1968) and the spectacular locations of San Francisco in general. Speaking of the iconic "Bullitt," "The Organization" is similar in tone, but more melodramatic, like "Dirty Harry," which was released around the same time. While "The Organization" is the least of the three, it's not far off and has its own points of interest. There's an over-the-top funky score by Gil Melle, which certainly dates the movie, but it was avant-garde at the time ("hip" and "happening"). The scores to those other movies are dated too, of course, but they're not as overdone. Personally, I appreciate the music. Sheree North was 38 during shooting and plays a past-her-prime alcoholic babe, but she was still very jaw-dropping. If you've seen "In the Heat of the Night," it's interesting to see Tibbs in his own stomping grounds, i.e. the multiculturalism of the big city, as opposed to be an understandably angry stranger in a small town of the still-prejudiced Deep South. As a snapshot of Big City, USA, 1970 (when it was filmed) "The Organization" is priceless. The climax is clumsily abrupt and ambiguous, yet it illustrates that Tibbs won the battle, but lost the war. THE FILM RUNS 106 minutes and was shot in San Francisco. WRITER: James R. Webb. GRADE: B/B- (6.5/10)

Ah, the 70's. Big guns, bigger cars and acknowledgements that *GASP!* police departments have black people too. Close on the heels of Isaac Hayes as Shaft, there was Sidney Poitier as Mister Tibbs. Both starred in a number of films based around their characters, although Poitiers tended to be slightly more realistic in nature (What with them being directly made with the assistance of the local force) and with less wanton violence.That doesn't mean they were immune to suffering from cliché-itis, though. So you have the usual schtick where the bad guys turn out to be the good guys, endless chase sequences through crowded streets and of course... The 'pivotal' moment where Tibbs has to hand over his gun and badge due to him being suspected of corruption. It may not be the movie's fault that such scenes have been done to death over 40 years, but it is what it is.Poitier keeps things ticking over nicely with his usual reliable screen presence, and the sparse family moments he shares with his wife and son are a nice touch... Although, too brief to really be that effective. Overall, it's an interesting look at a Gene Hunt era of law enforcement which is long since past (for better or worse) but in terms of entertainment, very, very average. 5/10

While investigating a corporate break-in, San Francisco Police Detective "Virgil Tibbs" (Sidney Portier) discovers that the suspects are in reality a group of revolutionaries bent on destroying a drug cartel known as "The Organization." Without permission from his superiors, "Tibbs" begins to work with the revolutionaries. They work their own ways, "Tibbs" working within police regulations, but still together.This is a pretty well written movie, but with some slight flaws in performances. The pacing of the movie is slow, but well paced.The stand out performance is easily Portier. This is the third movie where he portrays "Tibbs," of which he is probably best known for. He plays "Tibbs" two ways in the film. First, he plays the cop. You actually believe that he is a veteran on the police force. "Tibbs" passion is his work, and Portier makes you believe it. He also plays "Tibbs" as a family man who obviously loves his family. We don't get to see a lot of this side of the character since the focus is on the case he is on.One problem with this movie is that the supporting characters is poorly presented. There is little to no development in the revolutionaries, and we don't get to see much of "The Organization" beyond the hired guns. I was also unimpressed with their on-screen chemistry with each other. Not one really stood out if you ask me. In fact, I felt that these characters would fit better in an early-1970's television series than in a major motion picture.When it comes to the soundtrack, it's typical 1970's movie music. Not one piece is memorable. However, some pieces of music was used quite well in scenes.The action is pretty toned down in this film, probably because of the time it was filmed. You get a lot of chases on foot, and one pretty forgettable car chase. You also get some gun play with little blood. There is little to no intensity in the action scenes. The only thing that makes these scenes intense is the music played over them.There is a pretty good, and unexpected twist at the end of the movie, and it's handled pretty well thanks to Portier's performance. I didn't see it coming. There is also some really good transition edits in this film that I thought were done nicely.Though not a perfect movie, it is enjoyable, mostly thanks to Portier's performance.If you ever catch this on HBO or the free section of your On Demand service, check it out if your regular show is either not on for alternative programming or in a rerun. I actually watched it on Hulu, and only had to deal with about two minutes of commercials, which were sometimes oddly placed.