Touch of Evil Review

        My look into Film Noir continues. Touch of Evil is an interesting one in my opinion, it’s got a lot of things going for it. Both good and bad, the last part I’ll elaborate further. To me, it’s representative of doing a different kind of noir film that spices things up since it doesn’t have the usual hallmarks. Instead of it taking place in a big city, we’re now in a border town of all places. Where the seediness is intrenched in either side of the border. With all those superlatives out of the way, here’s what I think of Touch of Evil. 

1. Orson Welles

        Anyone who has a passion about film, either by watching movies or experimenting with making them have heard of this person. I never thought that I’d talk about him, since I haven’t even touched upon Citizen Kane for this initiative. Anyways, Welles was a celebrated actor and director. He was very creative with the way he shot his movies and was always on point as an actor. 

        This film is considered his last, and I think it’s his second-best film just a notch below Kane. With that, we see in the first few minutes that a bomb was planted inside a car. Following a great long take the car explodes. We follow Miguel Vargas who’s a Mexican investigator and his American counterpart Hank Quinlan. And from there, well it’s interesting. One would think the whole film would be about who exactly bombed the car and why.

        The story never really goes that deep into it since the whole film is really about Vargas slowly putting together that Quinlan is a corrupt police captain. There’s also a side plot involving Vargas’ wife staying at a hotel which is overrun by the town’s crime boss. So yeah, it’s made clear that on both sides of the border, they don’t take that much interest in the actual bombing. Although, it just shows that there’s an aura of awful that’s practically shrouding the law enforcement.

        In one way, Orson Welles had a lot of creative liberty when adapting the story since the novel was considered pulpy. He changed the location and the characters, especially the main character’s ethnicity since it gave it an edge given to where the film takes place. The more I think about it, Welle’s directing style gives the town a distinct look. It’s covered in used newspapers and it’s open since we see people coming and going. 

More so that I believe that he was poking fun at film noir in general. With the ensuing plot point that doesn’t really go anywhere. Right down to the Mexican crime boss who’s like an archetype for these movies. The main thing I think with what Welles was going for was that since there’s little development for depth, it’s positioned as a way for people to be used as pawns. 

        One recurring camera aesthetic that I noticed is the way that characters are staged in. Specifically, in the scene involving Quinlan interrogating a suspect at a hotel room. When you watch it, the whole moment feels cramped and uncomfortable. Given how Quinlan and his associates don’t let the suspect off the hook. It really captures Hank’s size, to show that he’s the boss. Never mind the fact that Welles was a big person but that’s not the point. As well as show us from Vargas’ point of view that the evidence was planted ahead of time. 

        What makes the film work is that in some way, we get to see just how justice is presented in a town where justice is just tossed aside. Vargas as a character is an idealistic man who is mostly by the books while Quinlan is celebrated but he has questionable motives in order to get great public standing. It all comes together when he makes a deal with the crime boss Grandi, who double crosses him when he’s of no use. 

        One thing that I found interesting character wise was of Menzies. He’s the only close associate to Vargas as Miguel doesn’t entirely trust Hank or his guys. Menzies tries to balance his kinship to the main authority heads that it honestly feels like a balancing act between helping Vargas and being in Hank’s good graces. He shows just how a person who’s doing a balancing act, slowly reveals who he really is. 

2. The Elephant in The Room

        Just by judging the poster on the very top, you know full well that Charlton Heston isn’t a Mexican or Hispanic in anyway. In one way, I can understand that this film is also a problem film, something where its presentation was okay at the time but not okay presently. Context is really needed when talking about these films since some things get lost in the shuffle or people are willingly want to “cancel” something without doing any due diligence. 

        The only reason Heston was casted in the film was that he was a hot commodity at the time. This was right after he performed as Moses in The Ten Commandments. And just before he reached that apex of excellence with Ben-Hur. Heston joined the movie since Welles was also attached to the movie. He even wanted Orson to direct the movie, which the studio abided by. The only catch is that Welles wasn’t paid as a director. 

        So, this is really a tough one to examine since it has that glaring aspect to it. It works in a narrative sense since it showcases the racism that happens. It juxtaposes Vargas being the good cop and Hank being the corrupt cop who sneers and belittles anyone who isn’t his skin color. Right down by stating that ‘border towns bring the worst in people.’. The movie isn’t progressive in the least bit but has the thing it has going for it. Which is having the element of showing how one place can show people who they really are. 

3. Overall

        Touch of Evil is considered the last of the black and white film noir movies. It’s a classic from Orson Welles and a product of its time.