Événement

F3 - Fullerton Film Festival - Touch of Evil

Touch of Evil
USA, 1958 112 min.
Director: Orson Welles

TOUCH OF EVIL was Orson Welles' fifth Hollywood film and the last American film he ever made. The film had been taken away by the studio from writer-director Welles (who subsequently disowned it) and re-edited. When it was released in 1958, it was thought to be rebellious and unorthodox for the time with themes such as racism, sexual ambiguity, police corruption and drug use that were considered to be an affront to 1950s sensibilities. Although clearly unappreciated at the time, the film is now widely regarded as one of the greatest B movies ever made. A cult classic, TOUCH OF EVIL is truly a testament to Welles' directorial genius. In the late 1990s, the film was restored meticulously (by Rick Schmidlin and Walter Murch) from a newly discovered 58-page memo of editing instructions that Welles sent to then Universal International studio boss, Ed Muhl. Though the truly film noir plot in the restored version remains the same - a car is blown up as it crosses the Mexican border into the United States and Mike Vargas (Charlton Heston), a high ranking Mexican narcotics official on honeymoon with his bride Susie (Janet Leigh) is drawn into the investigation because a Mexican national has been accused of the crime. As the corpulent cop who may be involved in the murder, Welles faces opposition from Vargas whose wife is later abducted and held as the pawn in a struggle between Vargas' quest for truth and Welles' control of carefully hidden secrets- it is the opening shot lasting a record holding three minutes and now free of an overbearing music and credit sequence that marks Welles dazzling talent and skill as a filmmaker. The film also features Joseph Cotton, Keenan Wynn, and Marlene Dietrich in one of the best cameo roles ever committed to celluloid.

Very special thanks to Paul Ginsburg at Universal for helping us to secure this restored print.

We are thrilled to welcome actor Valentin de Vargas who plays Pancho in the film who will join us for a post screening discussion.