Touch of Evil

1958 • 95 minutes

About this movie

Experience Orson Welles' timeless masterpiece, Touch of Evil, complete and uncut with restored footage for the first time ever! This exceptional 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 memorable supporting cast including Janet Leigh as Heston's inquisitive wife, Akim Tamiroff as a seedy underworld leader, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Marlene Dietrich as an enigmatic gypsy complete this fascinating drama engulfed in haunting cinematography and a magnificently eerie score by Henry Mancini.

Ratings and reviews

Personally I've never been a big fan of Orson Welles because I watched his movie Citizen Kane(which is terrible.) The story is just all over the place and the scenes that are supposed to be suspenseful are cheesy!

Everything about this is near immaculate - the cinematography is unbelievably distinctive and dynamic, the story gripping with a plethora of intensely memorable moments, and Wells' creative choices shine through the censorship of the time. A must watch for any cinephile.

This is a mesmerizing movie, a brilliant work that's very poorly served by a cheesy trailer. Perhaps Welles' greatest film.