Review of Touch of Evil (1958) by Jose M — 04 Jul 2011

Orson Welles is a legend in cinematic history not for his prolific nature, but for the power of his landmark film, Citizen Kane. While I do agree that Kane was a ground breaking film at the time of it's release, it is definitely not the most entertaining film I've seen (far from it).

Touch of Evil however, is definitely Welles's most entertaining film, and arguably the better of the two. The opening tracking shot has been hailed as being one best in cinematic history, but far more noteworthy is the mastery behind the film as a whole.

It is one of the best-executed film noirs I have seen, and it really is dependent on the really tremendous performance by Welles himself as the crooked cop who plants evidence on suspects in an effort to expedite the judicial process.

It is a tense thriller to the very end, because you never really know just how much Welles's character is going to get away with. Charlton Heston was horribly miscast in this film, playing a Mexican character.

I would have never thought he was a Mexican were it not for his very ridiculous tan. Definitely a must see if you're into film noir.