Touch of Evil
National Film Registry
Rent/Purchase
A border-town bombing draws Mexican investigator Miguel Vargas into a corruption-ridden police investigation led by crooked captain Hank Quinlan, setting off a deadly struggle over power, justice, and truth.
What critics thought
DivisiveTouch of Evil is now regarded as a near-flawless masterwork of noir filmmaking, though its original 1958 reception was sharply divided: critics who marveled at Welles's bravura camerawork and atmosphere frequently complained in the same breath that the storytelling was opaque and the plot hard to follow. The gap between its contemporary notices and its current canonical status is one of the widest in Hollywood history.
“Mr. Welles' is an obvious but brilliant bag of tricks. Using a superlative camera (manned by Russell Metty) like a black-snake whip, he lashes the action right into the spectator's eye.”
Howard Thompson·The New York Times
“Touch of Evil is underkeyed, underlighted and undermonitored (for sound), but with the assistance of Russell Metty's marvelous mobile camera it charges ahead like the pure cinema it so often succeeds in being, complete with built-in stocks.”
Philip K. Scheuer·Los Angeles Times
“Welles establishes his creative talent with pomp, but unfortunately the circumstances of the story suffer. There is insufficient orientation and far too little exposition, with the result that much of the action is confusing and difficult to relate to the plot.”
Variety
Genres
Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Cast & Crew
DirectorOrson Welles
StarringCharlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Orson Welles, Joseph Calleia, Akim Tamiroff
ComposerHenry Mancini
Touch of Evil
National Film Registry
A border-town bombing draws Mexican investigator Miguel Vargas into a corruption-ridden police investigation led by crooked captain Hank Quinlan, setting off a deadly struggle over power, justice, and truth.
What critics thought
DivisiveTouch of Evil is now regarded as a near-flawless masterwork of noir filmmaking, though its original 1958 reception was sharply divided: critics who marveled at Welles's bravura camerawork and atmosphere frequently complained in the same breath that the storytelling was opaque and the plot hard to follow. The gap between its contemporary notices and its current canonical status is one of the widest in Hollywood history.
“Mr. Welles' is an obvious but brilliant bag of tricks. Using a superlative camera (manned by Russell Metty) like a black-snake whip, he lashes the action right into the spectator's eye.”
Howard Thompson·The New York Times
“Touch of Evil is underkeyed, underlighted and undermonitored (for sound), but with the assistance of Russell Metty's marvelous mobile camera it charges ahead like the pure cinema it so often succeeds in being, complete with built-in stocks.”
Philip K. Scheuer·Los Angeles Times
“Welles establishes his creative talent with pomp, but unfortunately the circumstances of the story suffer. There is insufficient orientation and far too little exposition, with the result that much of the action is confusing and difficult to relate to the plot.”
Variety
Genres
Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Cast & Crew
DirectorOrson Welles
StarringCharlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Orson Welles, Joseph Calleia, Akim Tamiroff
ComposerHenry Mancini
Rent/Purchase