They Call Me Mister Tibbs!

They Call Me Mister Tibbs! Theatrical Poster Country USA Directed by Gordon Douglas Release Date 1970 Studio The Mirisch Corporation Distributor United Artists MGM (DVD) Main Cast Character Actor Police Lt. Virgil Tibbs Sidney Poitier Logan Sharpe Martin Landau Valerie Tibbs Barbara McNair Rice Weedon Anthony Zerbe Woody Garfield Edward Asner Marge Garfield Norma Crane Mealie Williamson Juano Hernandez Captain Marden Jeff Corey

They Call Me Mister Tibbs! (sometimes stylized with "Mister" in all caps or underlined) is a 1970 crime drama directed by Gordon Douglas and starring Sidney Poitier as Lieutenant Virgil Tibbs, a detective of the San Francisco Police Department's homicide division (having apparently transferred from the Philadelphia Police Department though it is never mentioned in the two following movies). During the investigation of the murder of a call girl, Tibbs suspects his close friend, a liberal street preacher and political candidate Logan Sharpe (Martin Landau) which becomes a personal problem. The film is the second part of the trilogy about Virgil Tibbs, started by In the Heat of the Night (1967), and followed by The Organization. While the character of Tibbs originates in John Ball's novels, the plot of They Call Me Mister Tibbs! is original.

The following weapons were used in the film They Call Me Mister Tibbs!:

Revolvers

Smith and Wesson Model 36

Lt. Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) carries a Smith & Wesson Model 36 revolver.

Smith & Wesson Model 36 - .38 Special. First pattern with flat latch cylinder release.

Lt. Tibbs draws his revolver during the arrest of a suspect. The 5-shot cylinder is seen.

Tibbs holds his revolver.

Tibbs holds the revolver during the shootout in the parking.

The grip of Tibbs' revolver is seen better on a promotional image.

Smith & Wesson Model 32

What appears to be a Smith & Wesson Model 32 is used by Rice Weedon (Anthony Zerbe) during the shootout in the parking complex.

Smith & Wesson Model Terrier - .38 S&W

Rice Weedon carries a snub nose revolver in shoulder holster. Strangely, he prefers to carry the gun with the barrel up.

Weedon holds his revolver during the shootout. The gun is seen in distance but the shape of the front sight allows to identify it as a Model 32 rather than a Model 36.

Smith & Wesson or Colt snub nose revolver

Uniformed police officers carry holstered revolvers. They are seen very briefly, and any assumptions can be made only in a single case when the grips are seen more or less clear.

A highway patrol officer carries a revolver in holster. This is a compact model, supposedly a Smith & Wesson J-frame or a Colt D-frame, with square butt grips, fairly dark wood or the "Coltwood" synthetic grips. Strangely, the revolver turns out to be a snub nose as the holster just doesn't look filled out.

Shotguns

Ithaca 37

In several scenes, pump action shotguns are seen inside police cars. They turn out to be Ithaca 37.

Ithaca 37 Riot Version - 12 gauge

The barrel of a shotgun is seen inside a highway patrol car.

The barrel of a shotgun is seen inside a police car during the arrest of street rioters. The magazine end cap/barrel nut is visible.