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One Movie Punch


Aug 17, 2018

Welcome back to Film Buff Fridays!

Yup, it’s another Orson Welles film this week, as I’m gearing up on the forthcoming “The Other Side of the Wind” on Netflix, the restored and completed version of his last film in September. If you dig Orson Welles, check out “The Stranger” (Episode #215) from a couple weeks back, or any of his films, really. If you have a favorite and would like to see it reviewed, let me know at the form at onemoviepunch.com.

And now... 

Today’s movie is “Touch of Evil” (1958), the classic film-noir thriller directed by Orson Welles and written in collaboration with Franklin Coen and Paul Monash, based on the novel “Badge of Evil” by Whit Masterson. The film follows newlyweds Mike and Janet Vargas (Charlton Heston and Janet Leigh), who witness a bombing while on their honeymoon across the border. After Janet is harassed by local crime lord Uncle Joe Grandi (Akim Tamiroff), Mike takes it upon himself to investigate the situation, enraging local police chief Hank Quinlan (Orson Welles), who has a habit of railroading suspects with planted evidence.

Spoilers ahead.

I’m going to lead with the obvious hindsight criticism of the film:  Charlton Heston has no business playing a Mexican, nor using heavy makeup to make him appear of Mexican decent. It doesn’t matter how great his performance was within the film, nor how well he avoided falling into any obvious cultural tropes. The casting alone can rightly turn off a lot of people, and while it may not be out of place historically, it is an obvious problem today, one which should not be ignored. And it’s enough for me to knock off more than a few points, even for Orson Welles.

So, now that we’ve acknowledged that, we can turn to the many, many strengths of this film, beginning right away with an absolutely stunning long take. An unknown someone plants a bomb in the car, right next to the Vargas newlyweds on foot down a long street. It is truly masterful, often admired by directors who love to employ similar long takes. Just after that scene is the introduction of Orson Welles as Hank Quinlan, a character that would inspire so many others, including Boss Hogg from “The Dukes of Hazzard”. Over the course of the film, Welles turns that caricature into a deceptively complex character, who may not deserve redemption, but maybe consideration. The cast as a whole, with the exception of Heston’s casting, is excellent.

I’m also surprised how gritty and dark this film can get, especially for 1958. Orson Welles knows how to build and maintain tension, particularly with the treatment of Janet Vargas as a character, first with the initial harassment, then the later kidnapping and drugging and potential rape. I found myself screaming at Mike Vargas to go check on his wife, even as his character was single-mindedly pursuing Quinlan, over a great chase scene across an industrial area, and a messy, but just ending. I could easily see a remake of the film set in modern day, or perhaps as a period piece, but with appropriate casting.

“Touch of Evil” (1958) is a crime thriller masterpiece unfortunately marred by an obvious poor casting choice. While it tarnishes the legacy of the film, it doesn’t destroy the obvious skill and care put into the screenplay or direction, nor the cast performances as a whole. Fans of film-noir, or Orson Welles, should definitely check out this film while it’s available, now restored the way Orson Welles intended.

Rotten Tomatoes: 96% (CERTIFIED)

Metacritic: 99

One Movie Punch: 8.6/10

“Touch of Evil” (1958) is rated PG-13 and is currently streaming on Netflix.