Touch of Evil

Welles/Heston B&W cult noir is great on a technical level, but meh as a viewing experience

On the Texas border a Mexican detective (Charlton Heston) assists an American investigation into a shocking murder of an American official on the border, but he soon learns that the imposing & slovenly Sheriff (Orson Welles) is shady with a penchant for framing. Janet Leigh is on hand as the detectives new bride, an American.

Touch of Evil (1958) was written/directed by Welles (loosely based on a book) and has a huge reputation as a B&W noir-ish cult flick. There ARE interesting technical things going on as far as camera angles, lighting and impressive long takes (e.g. the opening sequence). It also has a notable classic cast with Leigh thoroug...

We start with a man putting a bomb in a car on the Mexican side of the border. When it explodes on the American side flattening the occupants, the local "Capt. Quinlan" (Orson Welles) decides to make a bit of a cursory investigation - in cahoots with his opposite number "Vargas" (Charlton Heston). Whilst they are out doing their sleuthing, "Susan Vargas" (Janet Leigh) is lured to a meeting with "Uncle Joe" (Akim Tamiroff) where it becomes clear that her husband is on the prosecuting side of a family dispute that is putting everyone in danger - something her husband finds out shortly afterwards when he narrowly avoids an acid facial. Now "Quinlan" and his sidekick "Menzies" (Joseph Calleia) have a rather unique way of working - the former in...

It's not Orson Welles' best work, and there are some problems and wrong choices, but it's still a worthwhile film.

One crime and two totally different men: this sentence almost sums up the entire film. Director Orson Welles is one of those monsters that we are used to having like a sacred cow, who turns everything he touches into gold. And really, he is responsible for great films and was an excellent artist, who understood cinema like few others did. However, in this film, his work was absolutely trampled on by stupid studio managers, and the result of this is that it was only very recently that it was possible to have access to a version of this film that was similar to what its director's creative vision was. . Just similar!

An...