Review of Touch of Evil (1958) by Devon — 11 Sep 2008

This movie is a masterpiece of crime drama. Heston plays Vargas, a detective from Mexico City who's very high up and respected, and also straight as an arrow. He and his wife are visiting a border town when a car blows up in front of them.

While Vargas investigates, he sends his wife back to the hotel, but before she can make it back, she's led off by a mexican hooligan in a leather jacket. She is taken to Joe Grandi, brother of mexican mob boss that Vargas is going to testify against later in the week.

Grandi warns her that her husband better stay away from that trial, or else. Meanwhile, Vargas runs into Quinlan (welles), the cop on the american side of the border who's investigating the car explosion.

He's a hero cop, but you wouldn't know it to look at him: he has a gimp leg (from taking a bullet for his partner) and he's fat and has great bags under his eyes. A real mess. Quinlan clearly doesn't like mexicans and has an instant distrust of Vargas.

This is the scenario as it's set up in the beginning of the movie. What happens next questions what heroes and villains are, and must've pushed the ratings board to the limit back in it's day.

This is such a well made film and such a great story, I have to recommend that everyone watch it at least once in their lives.