Touch of Evil

Pros: Welles acting, Welles direction, Orson Welles
Cons: Charlton Heston, slow story

Released in 1958, Touch of Evil < b>is considered one of the last examples of classic film noir (probably because color was right around the corner). It rsquo;s directed by and stars Orson Welles< b>, in what would be his last Hollywood picture. ...

Pros: The finest Noir available and a great re-mastered print!
Cons: Sometimes over the top...

Exponential Noir is "Touch of Evil", written and directed by Orson Welles in 1958, based on the novel "Badge of Evil" by Whit Masterson, and it is a dark and gothic journey through a police investigation in a Mexican border town. Starring Charlton ...

Pros: Cinematography, Marlene Dietrich cameo, score
Cons: Story, Direction, Welles, Heston, Leigh, supporting cast

Touch of Evil (1958)

Note: there are apparently many versions of this film around. I saw the 108 minute version with restored footage, dated 1987.

It seems there is a trend nowadays to deify Orson Welles and his film "Touch of...

Pros: Some decent acting performances, direction
Cons: Heston as a Mexican is the biggest joke ever!

Apparently (I do not really know!), there are many different versions of the film out there. The one I watched was the 1987 restored version.

Orson Welles will always be remembered as a Hollywood legend for Citizen Kane. If it...

Pros: Slick direction and cinematography, complex characters.
Cons: Takes a while to get going. Confusing at first.

"How many Hank?" "I told you, nobody. Nobody who wasn't guilty." Those defiant words sum up the moral philosophy of police chief Hank Quinlan, Welles' tragic villain in his superb film noir, "Touch of Evil". Quinlan is a man whose obsessive ...

Pros: Welles as director. Sturdy supporting cast. Great cameos. Terrifically shot and scored.
Cons: Beware studio edited versions.

Note: This is an update of my earlier review, written August 13, 2002, which I felt was missing some things. So enjoy!

Before I start this review, there are two points I would like to make:

1. Don’t confuse this movie...

Pros: Brilliant photography
Cons: Welles' obese corrupt sheriff is over the top; the movie tries too hard to be arty

Last weekend I sat glued in my recliner for the whole of the two days, barely pausing to eat, sleep or attend to basic bodily functions. What held me enthralled?

The Alfred Hitchcock Festival on AMC (The American Movie Channel), during which...

Pros: Welles, Dietrich, the Camera. The sleazy, grim-filled mood.
Cons: Junkie teenagers sequence is laughable.

Orson Welles' last American picture as a director begins with a bang. Literally. Utilizing one of the greatest opening sequences ever filmed, Welles begins his expressionistic exploration with a single edited tracking shot that snakes its way through the ...

Pros: Welles' most complete Hollywood film (excepting KANE); a striking early examination of Civil Rights.
Cons: We must forget botched versions; try to see Welles' vision fresh in Murch's restoration.

It took Orson Welles his entire adult life to create 1958's nightmarish TOUCH OF EVIL, and an additional 40 year struggle to realize the Civil Rights theme of the film. He did not live to see it restored to his vision, but, thanks to Editor Walter...

Pros: Cinematography, opening shot, Calleia, sleazy
Cons: Overrated, hammy Welles, dull and meandering, Heston as Mexican

Mexican narcotics cop Charlton Heston (!) and his white wife Janet Leigh (they’re newlyweds) get caught up in murder, sleaze and corruption in a Mexican-American border town run (or more accurately run over) by fat, growling, and corrupt ...

Pros: Acting, directing, screenplay
Cons: A little too dark

Orson Welles and Charlton Heston headline this dark mystery thriller as cops from opposite sides of the U.S./Mexican border who also seem to be on opposite sides of the law. The distinction is often very blurry throughout the course of this gripping ...

Pros: Welles is excellent, as always
Cons: "Mexican" or not, Charlton Heston is laughably bad

For a few years, there have been two reasons I’ve wanted to see Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil. Of course, I’ve always heard it was a brilliant film, but that’s not one of the reasons.

The first reason is The Player, which opens...

Pros: Starting with the opening shot, Welles rivals Citizen Kane for technical brilliance...and almost succeeds
Cons: Charlton Heston is about as authentically Mexican as Taco Bell cuisine

Touch of Evil will always be remembered as the movie that finally ruined Orson Welles. After the film was released, the cine-genius never again worked in Hollywood. It’s a tragedy of Cecil B. DeMille proportions, especially considering all that...

Pros: only one of the best 20 movies ever
Cons: duh I can't come up with any

You don't have to know a lot of background information to enjoy Touch of Evil. It's one of those few films that's entertaining for any average schmoe or schmoe-ette as it is nourishing for a historian who's screening it for the 30th time. If you...

Pros: Welles' acting & directing
Cons: cheesy characterization, dialog

"Touch of Evil" is considered my many to be the quintessential "film noir". Shot in startling black and white by legendary director Orson Welles, the film proves that it can hold up after all these years-however, in some respects,...