Movie Review – Touch of Evil

Touch of Evil (1958)
Written & Directed by Orson Welles

None of his peers could come close to touching the natural filmmaking genius of Orson Welles. Sometimes, you hear film people overhype a filmmaker or actor, but in this case, believe the hype. Welles delivers a film that looks like nothing else that was out at the time, pushing the boundaries of American cinema once again. Charlton Heston was cast after the release of The Ten Commandments and was curious who would direct. Welles was already in the cast, and Heston suggested the film legend helm the picture. Universal said they would get back to him. He got the picture, rewrote it, and staged one of the most visually exciting film noirs ever made.

A bomb goes off along the U.S.-Mexican border. Mexican special prosecutor Miguel Vargas (Heston) is honeymooning with his new bride, Susie (Janet Leigh), and takes up the investigation. On the U.S. side, police veteran Hank Quinlan (Welles) is searching for suspects in a manner that feels predetermined. Wrapping up the case as fast as possible makes him look better, and there are some easy targets to prey on. Quinlan is a hateful bigot towards the Mexican people and an alcoholic. When these traits intersect, he can become a truly despicable person. Vargas becomes convinced that Quinlan has planted evidence to frame a suspect but gets tremendous pushback from the Americans. Meanwhile, the Grandi crime film wants Vargas dead for locking up and indicting their patriarch. His new wife looks like the perfect target to help pressure the prosecutor into backing off the case.

The work of Orson Welles feels ahead of its time in that he always respected the hell out of his audiences. His films never talk down to them; they challenge the audience to meet him at another level where we can explore ideas with a level of maturity much of American media wasn’t delivering. Touch of Evil was a box office bomb for Universal, yet another signal the picture was beyond where most of the audience sat at the time. While the performances & writing are at the top of their game, the MVP for me is cinematographer Russell Metty. Metty had been working in this role since 1934 and, by the late 50s, was showcasing an incredible talent with images. He would provide the lush, bold, & colorful cinematography of Imitation of the Life the following year.

The first thing you notice about the look of Touch of Evil are the mindblowing crane shots. The entire single-take opening sequence would be daunting today without relying on computer-generated effects as a crutch. Everything we see is practical, and the camera’s mobility in this sequence is worth rewinding and watching many times over to puzzle out how they pulled it off so smoothly. I can only imagine the rehearsals and retakes because of mistakes in choreography. It doesn’t let up from there, and I would argue there is no uninteresting shot in the whole picture. Welles and his crew were clearly thinking deeply about each sequence and how to film it in a manner that would captivate the audience.

The film has so many thematically perfect moments; a kiss synced up with a bomb stands out at the start. Welles is highly talented at knowing when to cut and when to let a moment linger into discomfort. Of all the noir films I watched for this series, we end on the highest possible note. Welles isn’t associated with noir, but the themes of his movies overlap. There are no good people in this perpetual night; there are just people not as bad as others. Uncle Joe seems like he will be the central villain, but even he ends up a henchman to the morally vile Quinlan. There’s a track record of successes to keep up that is more important than justice being served, and it sits at the core of the film. 

Ariana made a great point while we were watching the film that she could see the direct line between Touch of Evil and many of the entries in the Coen Brothers’ filmography. I agree, especially with how Welles uses character actors in supporting roles. Someone like Akim Tamiroff as the villainous Uncle Joe feels like Jon Polito in Miller’s Crossing, a little troll of a man fueled by his hate and possessing a remarkable cruelty. Joseph Calleia, as Pete, Quinlan’s longtime and devoted partner, is an excellent conflicted role. A man who doesn’t want to acknowledge his peer is a completely corrupted & broken person. Dennis Weaver, who would make his name in television Westerns, has a supporting role as a motel desk clerk and steals every scene he is in, just like so many of those 1-2 scene parts that regularly come up in Coen films. Film legend Marlene Dietrich also plays a tiny but vital role as an old flame of Quinlan’s.

Most of Touch of Evil takes place at night, particularly the beginning and end, which is all the more potent as it was shot on location rather than in a sound stage. The production designers made sure the world of the film looked desolate & brutal; the final confrontation takes place in a remote location where the characters devolve into a near primal state, both Quinlan & Vargas desperate to make it out alive from this final confrontation. 

There’s this belief among some modern film lovers that old movies whose titles get referenced a lot must not actually be that good simply because they are old. I implore you Welles’ films are as good as people claim, and Touch of Evil shows that he had not lost his touch eighteen years after Citizen Kane. His cinematographer on Kane said Welles was so good because he didn’t come from film, and therefore, he didn’t make the film thinking about what couldn’t be done. He would have an image and work to help bring it to life. Some people think having a dismissive “hot take” is some sort of badge of honor, but I find it to be just a pointless contrarian stance. Whether or not you hold it in high esteem, this is a fantastic movie.