IMDb >
Touch of Evil (1958)
Watch It
Buy it at Amazon
Rent it at Blockbuster.com
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
BETA
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotesOverview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv scheduleAwards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage boardPlot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotesFun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQOther Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDeskPromotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo galleryExternal Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsTouch of Evil (1958) More at IMDbPro »
| Videos (see all 2) |
Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
8 June 1958 (France)
more
Tagline:
The Overwhelming Drama of a Strange Vengeance more
Plot:
Stark, perverse story of murder, kidnapping, and police corruption in Mexican border town. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
3 wins
more
NewsDesk:
(22 articles)
War of the Welles: Seven Actors Who've Played Orson
(From IFC. 26 November 2009, 7:15 AM, PST)
Me And Orson Welles Review
(From FilmShaft.com. 25 November 2009, 11:38 AM, PST)
(From IFC. 26 November 2009, 7:15 AM, PST)
Me And Orson Welles Review
(From FilmShaft.com. 25 November 2009, 11:38 AM, PST)
User Comments:
Hellish, haunting, human...
more (206 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Charlton Heston | ... | Ramon Miguel 'Mike' Vargas | |
| Janet Leigh | ... | Susan 'Susie' Vargas | |
| Orson Welles | ... | Police Captain Hank Quinlan | |
| Joseph Calleia | ... | Police Sergeant Pete Menzies | |
| Akim Tamiroff | ... | 'Uncle' Joe Grandi | |
| Joanna Moore | ... | Marcia Linnekar | |
| Ray Collins | ... | District Attorney Adair | |
| Dennis Weaver | ... | Mirador Motel Night Manager | |
| Valentin de Vargas | ... | Pancho - Grandi Hood | |
| Mort Mills | ... | Al Schwartz - District Attorney's Assistant | |
| Victor Millan | ... | Manelo Sanchez | |
| Lalo Rios | ... | Risto - Grandi's Nephew | |
| Michael Sargent | ... | Pretty Boy | |
| Phil Harvey | ... | Blaine | |
| Joi Lansing | ... | Zita |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for some violence and drug content. (1988 restoration)
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
95 min | Germany:111 min (1998 alternate version) | USA:108 min (1975 alternate version) | USA:112 min (director's cut) | Spain:106 min (DVD edition)
Country:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)
Certification:
Germany:16 (restored version) (re-rating: 2005) |
Netherlands:6 |
South Korea:15 (2003) |
Argentina:13 |
Australia:M |
Chile:14 |
Finland:K-11 (DVD rating) |
Finland:K-12 (restored version) |
Finland:K-16 (original rating) |
Germany:18 (restored version) |
Norway:15 (re-rating) (1999) |
Norway:16 (1985) |
Spain:13 (DVD rating) |
Sweden:11 (restored version) |
Sweden:15 (original rating) |
UK:12 |
USA:Approved (PCA #18506) (original rating) |
USA:PG-13 (No. 36039) (re-rating) (1998 restoration) |
USA:Unrated (restored version) |
West Germany:16 (nf)
Filming Locations:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Orson Welles was originally hired only to act in the film, but due to a misunderstanding, Charlton Heston understood that Welles was to be the director. To keep Heston happy, producer Albert Zugsmith allowed Welles to direct. Welles made major changes to the already-completed script, including changing Heston's character from a white district attorney to a Mexican narcotics agent, changing Janet Leigh's character from Mexican to American, and changing the setting of the movie from a small California town to a Mexican-American border town..
more
Goofs:
Continuity: As the night-man leads Vargas to cabin seven, Vargas jumps from his right side to his left at a cut.
more
Quotes:
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "House M.D.: Ugly (#4.7)" (2007)
more
Soundtrack:
Tana's Theme
more
FAQ
A Note Regarding SpoilersIs this movie based on a novel?
Any recommendations for movies similar to "Touch of Evil"?
more
more (206 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Touch of Evil (1958) moreRecommendations
If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
Show more recommendations
|
|
|
|
|
| Babel | A History of Violence | The Night of the Hunter | La hija del caníbal | Across the Universe |
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb top 250 movies | IMDb Crime section |
| IMDb USA section | Add this title to MyMovies |



There are several candidates for Welles greatest masterpiece - on odd days, this is mine; on even days I might choose The Magnificent Ambersons, Chimes at Midnight, Othello...
Welles took on this shlock noir potboiler adapted from Badge of Evil as a challenge, to prove that he could make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. His genius (so often frittered away in later years) is evident in every frame from the famous, dizzying virtuosity of the opening shot - the long tracking over crowds and streets to the no-man's-land of the Mexican border which seems to encompass all human life before exploding into the plot itself.
Welles own adaptation ditches Whit Masterson's simplistic good cop/bad cop dichotomy in favour of a swampland of moral relativism. His cop, Hank Quinlan (surely the template for M Emmet Walsh's character in Blood Simple) is gargantuan in his monstrosity, but Charlton Heston's Mike Vargas, for all his simpering goodness, is shallow, cold and deeply unlikeable and Janet Leigh is a cipher. Only Marlene Dietrich's whore-with-a-heart provides a tiny ember of compassion ("He was some kind of man, What does it matter what you say about people?").
Using the moral grey area of a border town, Welles' delves into the seamiest parts of life where everyone's future is "all used up". The pitch and tenor of the movie is really that of Shakespearean tragedy - Quinlan's tragedy - and the bleak humanity of the film is mesmerising. Even so - and even in the newly restored version which is as close to Welles intentions as we will ever get - one can't help feeling that Welles is trying to cram greatness into a plot that is too slight, too laboured.
For all its flaws (and it is a movie about human frailty) this is two hours of exquisite filmmaking, a masterpiece in a world that has cheapened the word