In this column my objective is to present films that are considered classic and/or culturally significant, in order to analyze them and attempt to understand their lasting appeal. Ultimately, any emphasis on the influence and lasting appeal of classic film would not be complete without mentioning the name of Orson Welles. His 1941 satire on William Randolph Hearst's yellow journalism empire, Citizen Kane, is consistently identified as one of the most important American films ever made (it routinely ranks #1 on polls for both the British and American Film Institutes).
While I certainly agree that Citizen Kane is a masterful work of film, I have always felt a sharp tinge of sadness over the fact that for many viewers Kane has dramatically overshadowed Welles' remaining body of work. However, in recent years many of these features have been reviewed once again, and the genius that made Welles' first film so groundbreaking is still at work in many of his later features.
One particular film where Welles' continued development as an artist is very evident is the classic 1958 film noir Touch of Evil. Not only did it reinforce Welles' reputation as a technical virtuoso, but the plot and the presentation of the film is just as enticing. The film has a rather rich history; there have been a total of three versions of the film that have been released, with the most recent version having been released in 1998. Like most of the films produced by Orson Welles, the film incited a storm of controversy with studio executives, and as a result, the original version of the film was edited severely. For the purposes of this review, I have chosen the restored 1998 version; not only is it the most recent release of the film, but it was also constructed to be as close to Orson Welles' original vision of the film as possible.
This haunting mystery begins with the sudden explosion of an automobile that has crossed over the border of Mexico into the United States, killing the man and woman inside. Suspicion for the murder is immediately placed on a Mexican citizen, but Mexican narcotics official Mike Vargas (Charlton Heston, in a rather unorthodox choice of casting) is determined to discover if this suspicion is a valid one. At odds with the honorable Vargas and his newlywed American wife Susie (Janet Leigh) is the corpulent and corrupt police Captain Hank Quinlan (Orson Welles). While researching the events of the murder, Vargas begins to suspect that the highly respected Quinlan may have planted evidence and made other sinister efforts in order to frame an innocent man. Quinlan then proceeds to embark on a determined mission to take any action — even murder — to prevent Vargas from exposing his fraudulent actions.
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