Touch of Evil (1958)

Director:

Orson Welles

Writers:

Orson Welles (screenplay)
Whit Masterson (novel)

Release Date:

8 June 1958 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Thriller

Tagline:

The Overwhelming Drama of a Strange Vengeance

Plot:

Stark, perverse story of murder, kidnapping, and police corruption in Mexican border town.

Plot Keywords:

Mexican | Border | Evidence | Investigation | Law

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Charlton Heston	...	Ramon Miguel 'Mike' Vargas
Janet Leigh	...	Susan 'Susie' Vargas
Orson Welles	...	Police Captain Hank Quinlan
Joseph Calleia	...	Police Sergeant Pete Menzies
Akim Tamiroff	...	'Uncle' Joe Grandi
Joanna Moore	...	Marcia Linnekar
Ray Collins	...	District Attorney Adair
Dennis Weaver	...	Mirador Motel Night Manager
Valentin de Vargas	...	Pancho - Grandi Hood
Mort Mills	...	Al Schwartz - District Attorney's Assistant
Victor Millan	...	Manelo Sanchez
Lalo Rios	...	Risto - Grandi's Nephew
Michael Sargent	...	Pretty Boy
Phil Harvey	...	Blaine
Joi Lansing	...	Zita

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violence and drug content. (1988 restoration)

Runtime:

95 min | Germany:111 min (1998 alternate version) | USA:108 min (1975 alternate vesion) | USA:112 min (director's cut) | Spain:106 min (DVD edition)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Germany:16 (restored version) (re-rating: 2005) | Netherlands:6 | South Korea:15 (2003) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-11 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-12 (restored version) | Finland:K-16 (original rating) | Germany:18 (restored version) | Norway:15 (re-rating) (1999) | Norway:16 (1985) | Spain:13 (DVD rating) | Sweden:11 (restored version) | Sweden:15 (original rating) | UK:12 | USA:Approved (PCA #18506) (original rating) | USA:PG-13 (No. 36039) (re-rating) (1998 restoration) | USA:Unrated (restored version) | West Germany:16 (nf)

Filming Locations:

Venice, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Trivia:

Orson Welles stated that his goal with the film was to infuriate the audience with the plot, in much the same way that Howard Hawks did with The Big Sleep (1946). The story became even more confusing once the studio re-cut the picture.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: As the couple is getting into the car at the beginning of the movie, there is exhaust coming from the tailpipe well before we hear the ignition noise.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Border Cop: Uh, you folks American citizens?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "House M.D.: Wilson's Heart (#4.16)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Tana's Theme

Another touch of brilliance from Welles

Considered by many to be the last "classic" noir film ever made, and perhaps the last masterwork from child prodigy Orson Welles, who looks about sixty in this film, despite his 42 years. In TOUCH OF EVIL the "noirish" dark streets and shadows are darker than ever, practically swallowing up the soft tones like a murky swamp. The action takes place in a nondescript U.S./Mexico border town where the worst that both sides has to offer is most in evidence. The famous opening scene (a 3 1/2-minute continuous shot) where we witness a time bomb being placed in the trunk of a Cadillac is masterful. The camera pulls in and out of the city scene as it follows the motion of the vehicle winding its way through streets littered with pedestrians, thus effectively creating a level of anxiety that could not be duplicated with multiple edits. After the inevitable explosion, the drama dives into a seedy world of corrupt police justice and malevolent decrepitude, which is filmed with such a stylish flair, it is almost weirdly humorous and playful! Mike Vargas, the good guy, is played by Charlton Heston and seems more than a wee bit miscast as a Mexican narcotics officer with his face darkened by makeup. When U.S. Police Captain Hank Quinlan (Orson Welles) first meets him he remarks, "He doesn't look Mexican." Quinlan is the ultimate repugnant cop gone bad and Welles has the camera looking up into his nostrils most of the time making his character look even more monstrous. But Quinlan is also pitifully sad. A man who once had the instincts of a cat and the intelligence of a fox has been reduced to an insignificant mass of tissue, who's "instinct" is having a knack for finding evidence that he himself has planted. And while he may be revered by the local officials in law enforcement, he's acutely aware that he is a fraud and petrified that Vargas, has seen him naked.