X
- 1958
- Passed
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 35 m
- 1958
- Passed
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 35 m
Summary This film noir portrait of corruption and morally-compromised obsessions stars Welles as Hank Quinlan, a crooked police chief who frames a Mexican youth as part of an intricate criminal plot. Charlton Heston plays an honorable Mexican narcotics investigator who clashes with the bigoted Quinlan after probing into his dark past. A memorabl...
Directed By: Orson Welles
Written By: Orson Welles, Whit Masterson, Franklin Coen, Paul Monash
- 1958
- Passed
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 35 m
- 1958
- Passed
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 35 m
Touch of Evil
7.6
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Summary This film noir portrait of corruption and morally-compromised obsessions stars Welles as Hank Quinlan, a crooked police chief who frames a Mexican youth as part of an intricate criminal plot. Charlton Heston plays an honorable Mexican narcotics investigator who clashes with the bigoted Quinlan after probing into his dark past. A memorabl...
Directed By: Orson Welles
Written By: Orson Welles, Whit Masterson, Franklin Coen, Paul Monash
Where to Watch
Not available in your country?
ExpressVPN
Get 3 Extra months free
$6.67/mth
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 24 Critic Reviews
99
96% Positive
23 Reviews
23 Reviews
4% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 24 Critic Reviews
99
96% Positive
23 Reviews
23 Reviews
4% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Amazingly, Welles gets away with it. Citizen Kane may be the more weighty, rounded work, but Touch of Evil is a heap more fun.
An all-star A-movie with large themes, brilliant technique, and a dark and daring performance by its star-writer-director that remains one of his two or three best. [Director's Cut; 18 Sept 1998, p.H1]
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 97 User Ratings
7.6
81% Positive
79 Ratings
79 Ratings
9% Mixed
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
9% Negative
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 97 User Ratings
7.6
81% Positive
79 Ratings
79 Ratings
9% Mixed
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
9% Negative
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
Interesting title considering the studio recut it in a fight with Welles that ended in them not wanting to submit it for awards and him never working for a studio again. Also interesting is that Welles' character mirrored his life at that time. I saw the 1998 version, reconstructed from Welles' notes. It is fantastic, his 2nd best movie, just have to get past Charlton Heston as a Mexican.
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The best, GREATEST thrilling gangster movie ever portrayed! With the best movie character ever portrayed: Orson Welles as Capt. Hank Quinlan! Plus the best movie quote ever spoken: "He was some kind of a man. What does it matter what you say about people?" And the best movie score ever composed!
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Still seems close to the pinnacle of film noir. [Director's Cut]
Welles manages to wring engaging performances out of all of his actors, but what's most impressive about the film is the way in which the director makes use of every corner of the screen with deliberate precision.
By Cindy White
FULL REVIEW
Astonishing cinematography and brilliantly played, this certainly one of the most influential crime movies in history.
What it really has to do with is love of the film medium, and if Welles can't resist the candy of shadows and angels and baroque decor, he turns it into stronger fare than most directors' solemn meat and potatoes. It's terrific entertainment.
By Staff (Not Credited)
FULL REVIEW
An essential from Orson Welles. Police thriller with the well-known ingredents that makes works clockwise: crooked policemen, femmes fatale, an overwhemed atmosphere and intrigue.
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Not my favourite Film Noir. Quinlan is so disgusting. And somehow I find this movie was so cheap, many scenes are in the studio with artificial light. There are some very mean scenes, but somehow I just wanted to see the end.
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On honeymoon with his new bride, a Mexican narcotics officer is unwittingly drawn into a web of crime and corruption when he witnesses a fatal car bombing. Following the case with interest, he's repulsed by the brusque attitude and morally-questionable methods of the local authorities. This is particularly true of their notorious lead detective, Quinlan, whose dubious past hangs like a rumbling storm cloud over the whole town.
Like most late-period noir films, Touch of Evil is a wash of pulp and grit, with the seedy subject matter providing a sense of persistent danger and the black-and-white film stock pumped for all the grain and contrast it can muster. Orson Welles, sitting in the director's chair, may have gone overboard in his quest to probe these depths, although post-production on the film wasn't exactly trouble-free and he was eventually ousted from that post en route to a studio-mandated final cut. The result is a jumbled narrative, stocked with far too many loud characters and pointless subplots, albeit one with a stylish, progressive look and feel. Welles is good on the screen (he also plays the shady, multifaceted gumshoe Quinlan), but the double-billing may have been more than he could manage at this stage of his career.
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Awards
New York Film Critics Circle Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Society of Camera Operators
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
National Film Preservation Board, USA
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination