Review of Touch of Evil (1958) by Bob L — 17 Jan 2012

Wow. Storywise; this is loosest piece of pulp detective fluff ever, but on it hangs these characters beautifully portrayed thanks to Welles' direction and filling with some of Hollywoods finest. I've only seen the copy that's been restored back to Welles original notes after the studios shot additional material, so I can't compare to the original edit, but for such a disposable story, this has the word 'epic' written all over it.

The cinematography is amazing, as is the pacing, and the casting is odd but superb (exception being Charlton Heston as a Mexican, who is just playing himself), as Janet Leigh and Orson himself dominate the story.

Small parts by Zsa Zsa Gabor, Marlene Dietrich (as 'ladies of the night') and Dennis Weaver as the mentally retarded Motel nightman, are great dressing to this, and are surprising considering how dark this material is.

Orson playing a sweaty, depraved and racist detective at the Mexican border, is cutting corners to solve a case, risking race relations and the careers of himself and his whole department. Very suspenseful, wonderfully shot and framed and smartly edited, this is a fine example of Welles at his most indulged (even today, there are not many films where the scenes across the opening 10 minutes are one continuous take).

Brilliant.