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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Orson Welles (screenplay)
Whit Masterson (novel)
more
Release Date:
8 June 1958 (France) more
Tagline:
The Overwhelming Drama of a Strange Vengeance more
Plot:
Stark, perverse story of murder, kidnapping, and police corruption in Mexican border town. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
3 wins more
NewsDesk:
(20 articles)
20 Most Anticipated Period Films (Part 1)
(From The Movie Fanatic. 18 October 2009, 9:18 PM, PDT)
20 Most Anticipated Period Films (Part 1)
(From The Movie Fanatic. 18 October 2009, 9:18 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
Another touch of brilliance from Welles more (205 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| 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 |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for some violence and drug content. (1988 restoration)
Parents Guide:
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:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
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:
Fun Stuff
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. more
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. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Border Cop:
Uh, you folks American citizens?
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "House M.D.: Wilson's Heart (#4.16)" (2008) more
Soundtrack:
Tana's Theme more
FAQ
A Note Regarding SpoilersIs this movie based on a novel?
Any recommendations for movies similar to "Touch of Evil"?
more
more (205 total)
Message Boards
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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.