Touch of Evil (1958)

Synopsis

An automobile is blown up as it crosses the Mexican border into the United States.

Mike Vargas, a high ranking Mexican narcotics official on honeymoon with his bride Susie is drawn into the investigation because a Mexican national has been accused of the crime.

The figurative and physical presence of Hank Quinlan as the 330 pound sheriff looms all over. Quinlan is a fanatic where “justice” is concerned, even if obtaining it involves planting evidence.



Quinlan’s reputation for law and order enables him to bend the law without question until Vargas confronts him.

From that point on, it’s a battle of wits between the two that, with an accelerating pace, rushes to a climax. --IMDb

Cast: Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Orson Welles, Marlene Dietrich, Joseph Calleia, Akim Tamiroff, Joanna Moore, Ray Collins, Dennis Weaver, Valentin de Vargas, Mort Mills, Victor Millan, Lalo Rios, Michael Sargent, Phil Harvey, Joi Lansing, Harry Shannon, Zsa Zsa Gábor


Initially dismissed by film critics, Touch of Evil found popularity among European audiences and won top awards at the 1958 Brussels World Film Festival. During the 1970s, its reputation was renewed and it is now widely regarded as one of Welles's best motion pictures and one of the best classic-era noir films as well as one of the last. Touch of Evil was re-edited according to Welles's original vision, as outlined in his memo, in 1998.

In 1993, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Read about this film

Country: USA
Language: English | Spanish
Color: Black & White
Runtime: 112 min.