Touch Of Evil (1958)

In a small town on the U.S. Mexican border, a businessman (Jeffrey Green) and his stripper girlfriend (Joi Lansing) are killed when their car explodes on the U.S. side. It's observed by a Mexican drug enforcement official (Charlton Heston) and his new bride (Janet Leigh). When a corrupt cop (Orson Welles) takes charge of the case, the official finds himself drawn into the case. Based on novel BADGE OF EVIL by Whit Masterson and adapted for the screen and directed by Orson Welles. From the stunning long tracking shot running around three minutes that opens the film to the confrontation between Welles and Joseph Calleia as his faithful friend at the film's end, this is a terrific exercise in atmosphere and style. I'm not taking anything away from the film's solid plot which is more than serviceable but it's what Welles does to the material that raises it to Art. Welles and his cinematographer, the great Russell Metty (ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS), use B&W with its light and shadows in such a way that the entire film becomes an almost Kafkaesque nightmare. The performances range from excellent to good. There has been some carping about Heston as a Mexican but I had no problem with it as presented within the narrative. The music is by Henry Mancini. The large cast includes Marlene Dietrich, Joseph Cotten, Akim Tamiroff, Mercedes McCambridge, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Joanna Moore, Ray Collins, Mort Mills and in the film's most bizarre performance, Dennis Weaver as a motel night clerk.