Review of Touch of Evil (1958) by Dan S — 20 Feb 2009

Most people will say that Orson Welles' best film is his 1941 masterpiece "Citizen Kane", but for me, "Touch Of Evil" is ultimately and easily his greatest film and a true achievement in filmmaking.

Vargas (Charlton Heston, who plays a Mexican) is a narcotics agent who has just recently married Susan (Janet Leigh, one of all-time great actresses). Their peace and tranquility is interrupted by a car explosion at the border.

However, the real trouble for Vargas doesn't begin until Hank Quinlan (an obese Orson Welles, in the best performance and most complex of his career), a corrupted border town sheriff comes into play.

Filled with endlessly great performances from the likes of Marlene Dietrich (sexy and wonderful as Tanya, a gypsy), Dennis Weaver (in one of his earlier performances), and Akim Tamiroff, great cinematography and lighting, Welles' brilliant writing and direction, and a haunting score by Henry Mancini make this the best film noir ever made (tied with "Kiss Me Deadly" and "The Night Of The Hunter").

You might not understand the plot much on the first time around, but this is one of those films where you can never have too many repeat viewings. I also recommend that you seek out the 1998 re-release version that re-edited by the great editor Walter Murch who used a 58 page memo written by Welles who named everything he disapproved of from Universal's 1958 recut version that was made for theaters.

Orson Welles' "Touch Of Evil" is one of my twenty favorite films of all-time. It's a perfect film.