Review of Touch of Evil (1958) by Michael T — 01 Apr 2011

There's a gritty, rugged quality about Touch of Evil that goes a long way towards its effectiveness. The dusty boarder town, the shadowy figures, the gangsters and crooked.

Cops and fortune tellers and politicians. The fact that it all takes place at night. This is a movie made by a man who knows a great deal about atmosphere and knows how to use that to his movie's advantage. This film shows that film noir is a genre that Orson Wells could have flourished at. The cloud that hangs over the whole of the film is that of suspicion and what good noir can't you say that about?

The DVD version of Touch of Evil is the 'restored' version of the film. The one that apparently honors Wells' original vision of the film before the studio took it away from him and butchered it. Considering this restoration was done after Wells had died, who knows how close they did get to his vision. Whatever the case, I'm willing to bet it's a hell of a lot closer than the version the studio released.

Speaking of Wells, this is my favorite performance from him. He's absolutely pitch perfect as the grossly overweight, gruff and grumbly cop, limping his way from one crime scene to another, a heir of disillusionment pervading his every move. A truly inspired performance.

Touch of Evil has aged quite well all things considered. The acting's definitely dated (aside from Wells) but the story and film itself has held up quite well. Even better, I'd say, than that certain other Wells film which sits like a reigning king over all other films in the eyes of critics the world over.