Review of Touch of Evil (1958) by Mitchell W — 21 Nov 2009

A masterpiece, it's even better in the 1998 'restored' edition where it's been re-cut to Welles' specifications.

The film may have been a job-for-hire, but Welles turns it into a virtuosic marvel. Few movies, let alone B-movies, have anything on par with that opening shot, and even its newly-restored soundtrack is orchestrated for suspense.

Welles also did the screenplay, rewriting the novel into something far more lurid and interesting. Vargas says border towns bring out the worst in people, and the ubiquitous sleaze certainly is suggestive of that, but it goes beyond drugs and prostitution. (After all these years, the racial subtext remains particularly sharp, given the ongoing immigration debate.).

But more affecting is the story between Quinlan and Menzies. What started as a run-of-the-mill story on police corruption becomes a nuanced, layered tragedy about two men living under destructive illusions. The longer they give into them, the more it hollows them out. Joseph Calleia is very sympathetic as Menzies, especially when he tries to rectify things, but some mistakes are forever.

Welles was supposed to make five more pictures for Universal, but they didn't honor their agreement. After "Touch of Evil," the studios never bankrolled another film from Welles.