Review of Touch of Evil (1958) by Jeremy A — 18 Apr 2010
Sensational crime drama about a narcotics agent at odds with a corrupt American cop. They're investigating the murder of a couple after driving their car across the Mexican-American border. A B-movie at heart, this film noir is a potboiler dressed up with flashy camerawork and a stellar cast.
Written, directed by, and co-starring Orson Welles, he flaunts conspicuous direction and stunning visual style. This is exaggerated stuff, but damn if it isn't entertaining. Dennis Weaver plays a jittery hotel manager, Marlene Dietrich dons a black wig as a fortune telling madam, and they've got Charlton Heston playing a Mexican! When a gang of hoodlums terrorizes Janet Leigh in a hotel room, the scene threatens to derail the film into trashy melodrama.
Luckily the plot is so arresting it holds the viewer's interest throughout the film until the very last frame of this tense psychological thriller.
This review of Touch of Evil (1958) was written by Jeremy A on 18 Apr 2010.
Touch of Evil has generally received very positive reviews.
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