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Touch of Evil Overview:

Touch of Evil (1958) was a Crime - Film Noir Film directed by Orson Welles and produced by Albert Zugsmith and Rick Schmidlin.

SYNOPSIS

A story of studio meddling became one of the most talked about movies of 1998 upon release of a restored version based on notes that Welles had sent to Universal in response to their reediting. Right from the first shot, which many consider the finest opening sequence in movie history (and which the studio decided to run credits over), Welles takes a tawdry crime melodrama and turns it into dark poetry. Heston, a Mexican cop, is heading for a honeymoon with Leigh, but they are distracted by a car bombing as they cross the border. When Heston offers to help in the investigation, he begins a twisted journey into a seedy night time world of drug smugglers, prostitutes, and, most magnificently, "a great detective, but a bad cop" played by Welles. Leigh falls into a snare set by drug kingpin Tamiroff as her husband goes mano a mano with a murderous Welles. An absorbing noir, and a triumphant story of film preservation.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Touch of Evil was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1993.

Touch of Evil BlogHub Articles:

Touch of Evil (1958)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Nov 30, 2023 From 4 Star Films

On even a cursory level Touch of Evil has all the ready hallmarks of Orson Welles the auteur. Working in tandem with veteran Universal cinematographer Russell Metty (they had collaborated before on The Stranger), they develop the director’s preferred mise en scene from claustrophobic dutch ang... Read full article

Film Noir Review: Touch of Evil (1958)

By Danilo Castro on Dec 30, 2021 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

“Your future’s all used up.” Orson Welles was an architect of film noir before the style had even been identified. His debut release, Citizen Kane (1941), was revolutionary for the artform as a whole, but the film’s shadowy visuals and elaborate flashbacks had the biggest impa... Read full article

Touch of Evil (1958) – Film-Noir

By 4 Star Film Fan on Jul 1, 2013 From 4 Star Films

Starring Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, and Orson Welles, this film is one of the last examples of what is considered true film-noir. In a small, dangerous, run down, border town, a mysterious car bombing murder takes place. A Mexican investigator who is a newlywed (Heston) and a hardened America... Read full article

Touch of Evil (1958) – Film-Noir

By 4 Star Film Fan on Jul 1, 2013 From 4 Star Films

Starring Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, and Orson Welles, this film is one of the last examples of what is considered true film-noir. In a small, dangerous, run down, border town, a mysterious car bombing murder takes place. A Mexican investigator who is a newlywed (Heston) and a hardened America... Read full article

Touch of Evil

By RBuccicone on Sep 14, 2012 From MacGuffin Movies

Touch of Evil (1958) It had been probably seven years since I had seen Touch of Evil, so when the opportunity presented itself to see it on the big screen, I said, sure, why not? I probably should have been shouting from the rafters because in the interim I had completely forgotten just how much of ... Read full article

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Touch of Evil Quotes:

Ramon Miguel 'Mike' Vargas: I'm saying more than that, Captain. You framed that boy. Framed him!
Tanya: He was some kind of a man. What does it matter what you say about people?
Ramon Miguel 'Mike' Vargas: Susie, one of the longest borders on earth is right here between your country and mine. An open border. Fourteen hundred miles without a single machine gun in place. Yeah, I suppose that all sounds very corny to you.
Susan: I could love being corny, if my husband would only cooperate.
Ramon Miguel 'Mike' Vargas: This could be very bad for us.
Susan: For us?
Ramon Miguel 'Mike' Vargas: For Mexico, I mean.
Ramon Miguel 'Mike' Vargas: A policeman's job is only easy in a police state.
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Touch of Evil Facts
Orson Welles said that this was the most fun he'd ever had filming a picture, unlike most of his Hollywood films, because he wasn't troubled by studio interference (until after he completed the picture, anyway), he was given a healthy budget and he was working with a crew of some of his favorite actors on a script that didn't involve as much symbolism and all-out cinematic tricks as something like Citizen Kane.
Marlene Dietrich and Zsa Zsa Gabor share a title card ("Guest Starring Marlene Dietrich, Zsa Zsa Gabor"). Gabor has a bit part; she is onscreen for twenty seconds at most. Dietrich has a pivotal role and appears in four crucial scenes including the finale.
There has been much debate over the aspect ratio of the 1998 re-release. Apparently Orson Welles wanted to shoot the movie in flat widescreen (1.85:1), but Universal ordered him to film it in Academy ratio (1.37:1). When the film was restored, the production team offered to do the restorations in full screen, but Universal had them release it in widescreen, which the DVD is. However, TV viewings in 4:3 help viewers see the full framing that Welles clearly intended for the picture.
According to the autobiography of Charlton Heston, the scene where Vargas and Schwartz discuss getting proof against Quinlan while driving along in Vargas' convertible marks the first time in film history when a scene with dialogue was shot in a moving car. Rather than using a fake car in front of a projection screen, director Orson Welles had the car rigged with the necessary camera and audio equipment and instructed the two actors how to activate it.
Janet Leigh broke her left arm before filming commenced, but appeared nonetheless. The arm was in a cast, hidden from the camera, for many scenes. In the more revealing motel scenes, the cast was removed for filming, and re-applied afterwards.
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