|
 The best film noirs have been the result of a harmonious connection between story and style. A movie can look as dark and shadowy as it pleases, but it's all for naught if it's lacking a thematic backbone. This is what places 1958's Touch of Evil, starring Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, and the indomitable Orson Welles, in a league of its own. Originally released as the bottom half of a B-movie double bill, Touch of Evil takes a stroll in much deeper emotional territory than its handlers gave it credit for. It's a film that explores the darkness that dwells within all of us, questioning our ideas of right and wrong in a way that's nothing short of suspenseful gold.
On a night like any other, a shocking crime shatters the peace of a town nestled on the Mexican-American border. A car driven by an American businessman has burst into flames, thanks to a bomb planted south of the border. Pulled into the fray is Mike Vargas (Heston), a Mexican detective honeymooning with his new wife, Susie (Leigh).
 Initially wanting no part in the case, Vargas is compelled into taking action once Hank Quinlan (Welles), a towering and legendary police captain, enters the picture. Quinlan's insistence on relying on hunches and habit of nabbing suspects conspicuously fast pique Vargas' curiosity, and sure enough, he gets wind of a whole web of corruption that might damage the mighty Quinlan's reputation. Meanwhile, Susie finds herself being hassled by the very thugs her husband is trying to send to jail in an impending narcotics trial, a game of psychological warfare that takes a turn for the worse when the hoods go to Quinlan for assistance.
One could say that Touch of Evil is two films rolled into one. On the outset is a basic mystery that centers on the hunt for the bomber, as well as on Vargas' dealings with a Mexican crime family. But it's not long before the movie evolves into something more, leaving behind its pulpy premise to plumb the depths of some morally ambiguous terrain. It becomes a film where the good guys and the bad guys aren't so easily defined, where some of the cops are even more lowdown and dirtier than the crooks they're paid to catch.
Orson Welles & Charlton Heston
Directing from his own script, Welles establishes a volatile atmosphere that's pitch-perfect for the story. Not only is jurisdiction a source of tension between Vargas and Quinlan's entourage, so are class and deep-seeded racism, resulting in an air of intensity that doesn't let up until the final scene. Such themes are enhanced on an artistic front, thanks to a healthy dose of wry symbolism and experimental cinematography that opens up the film visually yet still maintains a claustrophobic atmosphere.
Touch of Evil positions Vargas as the film's hero, and Heston does deliver a solid performance (despite the hang-up of not looking the slightest bit Hispanic). But it's obvious that the film's epicenter is Quinlan, played with layers of grizzled zeal by Welles himself. You can tell within a few minutes of the character's introduction that there's something a little off about Quinlan. Welles spends the remainder of the film peeling off the layers of his psyche, one by one, until viewers are left looking at the bloated and corrupted shell of a once noble man.
Janet Leigh
It's at this point that the film becomes more than just an above-average potboiler. The real meat of the story lies not with a labyrinthine mystery but with the paths of self-destruction the characters find themselves wandering down. The film becomes all the more fascinating, and the climactic sequence, featuring one of Quinlan's cronies forced to work against him, is truly nail-biting. Also well-executed are the scenes where Susie (played by Leigh as more than a damsel in distress) finds herself slowly driven to the brink of madness by a gang of creeps determined to break her without laying a hand on her.
Touch of Evil is more than deserving of its status as a noir classic, though there were certain aspects that I wasn't so keen on. Welles often overplayed Quinlan's slobbish nature to a cartoonish degree, and though it mattered little in the end, I wish the film's central mystery wasn't treated so much as an afterthought. Still, these are minor quibbles when it comes to the big picture. The movie is a fantastic piece of work, an example of thematic grit and dark panache at it's very finest.
Director: Orson Welles
Writer: Orson Welles (based on the novel "Badge of Evil" by Whit Masterson)
Cast: Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Orson Welles, Joseph Calleia, Akim Tamiroff, Dennis Weaver, Marlene Dietrich
Rating: PG-13 for violence, drug content
Classic Movie Guide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Run Time: 111 minutes (restored version)
Studio: Universal Pictures
Format: Black-and-white, widescreen
Photo credits: Universal Pictures
|
