{ "id": "epgs3zxx1c", "slug": "the-organization", "title": "The Organization", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery", "label": "Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1970s-films", "label": "1970s films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1970s-films" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1970s-films", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000: 1970s films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1970s-films", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery", "label": "Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1970s-films", "label": "1970s films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1970s-films" } ] } ], "excerpt": "The Organization is a 1971 American crime thriller directed by Don Medford, starring Sidney Poitier in his third and final film as detective Virgil Tibbs, investigating revolutionaries who steal heroin from a San Francisco drug front.", "snippet": "The Organization is a 1971 American crime thriller directed by Don Medford, starring Sidney Poitier in his third and final film as detective Virgil Tibbs, investigating revolutionaries who steal heroin from a San Francisco drug front.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1970s-films", "markdown": "# The Organization\n\n**The Organization** is a 1971 American crime thriller directed by Don Medford and starring [Sidney Poitier](https://www.edgepedia.org/sidney-poitier) in his third and final theatrical appearance as police detective Virgil Tibbs, following *In the Heat of the Night* (1967) and *[They Call Me Mister Tibbs!](https://www.edgepedia.org/they-call-me-mister-tibbs)* (1970).[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54107-THE-ORGANIZATION) In the film, a group of young urban revolutionaries steals a large shipment of heroin from a San Francisco company they believe is a front for drug trafficking, then calls on Lieutenant Virgil Tibbs for help.[2](https://www.flicks.com.au/movie/the-organization/) The screenplay is by James R. Webb, the producer is Walter Mirisch, and the film was shot on location in San Francisco.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54107-THE-ORGANIZATION)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Release | Los Angeles and New York opening 20 October 1971; produced 3 May to 23 June 1971[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54107-THE-ORGANIZATION) |\n| Series position | Third and final Virgil Tibbs film for Sidney Poitier, based on the character created by novelist John Ball[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54107-THE-ORGANIZATION) • [3](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/The_Organization?id=RHwdsI7OA5U.P) |\n| Principal cast | Sidney Poitier (Lt. Virgil Tibbs), Barbara McNair (Valerie Tibbs), Gerald S. O'Loughlin (Lt. Jack Pecora), Sheree North (Mrs. Morgan)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54107-THE-ORGANIZATION) |\n| Supporting cast | Raul Julia, Ron O'Neal, Allen Garfield, Bernie Hamilton, Graham Jarvis, Fred Beir, and Max Gail, who made his feature film debut[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54107-THE-ORGANIZATION) • [4](https://www.netflixmovies.com/the-organization-1971) |\n| Heroin shipment | Valued at $4 million in the AFI synopsis and Swank's synopsis; $5 million in several other synopses[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54107-THE-ORGANIZATION) • [5](https://www.swank.com/parks-recreation/details/17189-the-organization) • [2](https://www.flicks.com.au/movie/the-organization/) |\n| Ratings | Rotten Tomatoes 25% Tomatometer (8 reviews) and 28% Popcornmeter; IMDb 6.0/10 from about 2,500 votes[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/organization) • [7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067535/ratings/) |\n| Production | Mirisch Productions, Inc.; distributed by United Artists; cinematography by Joseph Biroc, editing by Ferris Webster[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54107-THE-ORGANIZATION) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nThe film opens with an approximately eleven-minute sequence, almost without dialogue, in which six people wearing plastic masks pose as a maintenance crew to infiltrate the Century Furniture Factory in San Francisco at night. They kidnap factory manager [John Bishop](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-bishop), knock out guard George Morgan, and force Bishop to open the office vault, which holds the heroin shipment.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54107-THE-ORGANIZATION)\n\nThe intruders describe themselves as urban revolutionaries acting to keep the drugs off the street, and they intend the theft to push the police into investigating the company and the drug organization behind it.[4](https://www.netflixmovies.com/the-organization-1971) When an executive and a night watchman are killed in the building, Tibbs is called in and discovers the watchman was actually killed elsewhere. The revolutionaries contact him and confess to kidnapping, but not killing, the watchman in their botched attempt to expose the heroin ring. Tibbs believes them, but when his superiors learn of his ties to the group, he is suspended from the force.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/organization)\n\nAs the investigation proceeds, people cooperating with Tibbs begin to be murdered, and corrupt narcotics officers tie him to the stolen drugs. Tibbs eventually identifies several leaders of the organization and arrests them, but they are soon killed by mob hitmen; he reflects that he has won a battle while losing the larger war.[8](https://www.scarsdalelibrary.org/event/movie-screening-discussion-organization-1971-140457) The organization of the title is a worldwide heroin combine operating behind the facade of big business.[9](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-organization-1)\n\n## Production\n\nThe film was shot on location in San Francisco, with press notes also listing the nearby location of Sausalito. Some scenes were filmed in the then-unfinished [Bay Area Rapid Transit](https://www.edgepedia.org/bay-area-rapid-transit) (BART) subway system, and specific locations included the [San Francisco Police Department](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-francisco-police-department) headquarters at 850 Bryant Street and sites at 529 Broadway and the Frolic Room on Mason Street.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54107-THE-ORGANIZATION) • [10](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067535/locations/) Filming ran from May 3 to June 23, 1971.[10](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067535/locations/)\n\n**Poitier's divided attention.** In his autobiography, Poitier noted that while shooting *The Organization* he was preoccupied with editing chores on his directorial debut, *Buck and the Preacher* (1972). Producer Walter Mirisch said in a June 1971 *Los Angeles Times* interview that he planned a fourth installment in the series, but Poitier stated in the same article that he had little interest in revisiting the character again.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54107-THE-ORGANIZATION) The film therefore stands as the character's last theatrical screen appearance; [Howard Rollins](https://www.edgepedia.org/howard-rollins) later took up the role in the television series *In the Heat of the Night*, which aired from 1988 through 1995.[11](https://www.afi.com/news/did-you-know-this-sydney-poitier-film-was-released-50-years-ago-this-month/)\n\n[Barbara McNair](https://www.edgepedia.org/barbara-mcnair) and the child actors Wanda and George Spell, who played Tibbs's wife and children, had played the same roles in *They Call Me Mister Tibbs!*.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54107-THE-ORGANIZATION) A modern source adds stuntman [Hal Needham](https://www.edgepedia.org/hal-needham) to the production credits.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54107-THE-ORGANIZATION)\n\n## Reception\n\nThe [American Film Institute](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-film-institute) records that reviews were generally favorable, though some critics cited *The French Connection* (1971) as a grittier version of a similar story.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54107-THE-ORGANIZATION) Aggregated scores have been less kind: the film holds a 25% Tomatometer from eight reviews and a 28% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 6.0/10 rating on IMDb from about 2,500 users.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/organization) • [7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067535/ratings/)\n\n**Contemporary critics** found the plot hard to follow. Roger Ebert, the film critic of the *Chicago Sun-Times*, wrote in November 1971 that the caper was so complicated he was not sure he could figure it out, comparing its loose ends to *The Big Sleep* (1946), and described the plot as not exactly believable.[12](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-organization-1971) A. H. Weiler of *The New York Times* wrote that the film could be rough on super-city sleuths as well as moviegoers who had been through much the same melodramatics before.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/organization) Time Out's retrospective review judged the villains' setup unconvincing but found the climactic action sequences genuinely intriguing and totally involving.[9](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-organization-1)\n\n## The Virgil Tibbs series\n\nPoitier's Virgil Tibbs, a Black homicide detective introduced in *In the Heat of the Night*, marked the first instance of a leading-role series for an African American police detective, according to the American Film Institute, and the character remained a fixture in popular culture for nearly 30 years on screen and in John Ball's novels.[11](https://www.afi.com/news/did-you-know-this-sydney-poitier-film-was-released-50-years-ago-this-month/) *The Organization* moved the character from Philadelphia, where he first appeared, to San Francisco, where he lives with his wife Valerie and their two children.[12](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-organization-1971)\n\nThe film appeared in the same 1971 season as *Shaft* and *Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song*, the releases most often identified with the start of the [Blaxploitation](https://www.edgepedia.org/blaxploitation) era, though *The Organization* itself was a mainstream studio production in the Tibbs series rather than a Blaxploitation film.[13](https://exhibits.library.duke.edu/exhibits/show/africanamericansinfilm/timeline/1970s)\n\n## Availability\n\nThe film carries a PG-13 rating in current listings and runs between 105 and 108 minutes depending on the source; the AFI catalog lists 105 or 107 to 108 minutes.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54107-THE-ORGANIZATION) • [5](https://www.swank.com/parks-recreation/details/17189-the-organization) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/organization) As of the latest check, the film appears on none of Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Max, Hulu, or Peacock anywhere in the world, though it is carried by MGM Plus Amazon Channel in 7 countries, Apple TV in 5, and MGM Amazon Channel in 3; viewers in the United States can find it on Apple TV, FlixFling, and ScreenPix Amazon Channel.[14](https://www.flickfinder.net/movie/the-organization-1971-92272)\n\n## References\n\n1. [The Organization (1971), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/54107-THE-ORGANIZATION)\n2. [The Organization, Flicks (Australia)](https://www.flicks.com.au/movie/the-organization/)\n3. [The Organization, Google Play Movies](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/The_Organization?id=RHwdsI7OA5U.P)\n4. [The Organization (1971), NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/the-organization-1971)\n5. [The Organization (1971), Swank Motion Pictures](https://www.swank.com/parks-recreation/details/17189-the-organization)\n6. [The Organization, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/organization)\n7. [The Organization (1971) – Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067535/ratings/)\n8. [Movie Screening & Discussion – The Organization (1971), Scarsdale Public Library](https://www.scarsdalelibrary.org/event/movie-screening-discussion-organization-1971-140457)\n9. [The Organization 1971, directed by Don Medford, Time Out](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-organization-1)\n10. [The Organization (1971) – Filming & production, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067535/locations/)\n11. [Did You Know this Sidney Poitier film was released 50 years ago this month?, American Film Institute](https://www.afi.com/news/did-you-know-this-sydney-poitier-film-was-released-50-years-ago-this-month/)\n12. [The Organization movie review (1971), RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-organization-1971)\n13. [From Blackface to Blaxploitation: Representations of African Americans in Film, Duke University Libraries](https://exhibits.library.duke.edu/exhibits/show/africanamericansinfilm/timeline/1970s)\n14. [Where to watch The Organization (1971), FlickFinder](https://www.flickfinder.net/movie/the-organization-1971-92272)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 1970s films*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-organization", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-organization.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"The Organization\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-organization. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[The Organization](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-organization)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/the-organization](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-organization). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"The Organization\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-organization. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "The Organization is a 1971 American crime thriller directed by Don Medford, starring Sidney Poitier in his third and final film as detective Virgil Tibbs, investigating revolutionaries who steal heroin from a San Francisco drug front." }