SCREENING: Touch of Evil
Susan (Janet Leigh) screams for help from a cheap hotel balcony, people only stop and stare
According to Welles himself, he had the time of his life directing the movie that would later get the title of Touch of Evil: minimal studio interference, a hugely talented and respected cast eager to work with him and honored to be included in his inspiring creative process, a distinguished cinematographer ahead of his time and peers… Everything seemed perfect, and Welles honestly believed he was back in the game and there to stay.
However, when Touch of Evil premiered (Links to an external site.) as the bottom half of a double bill (alongside The Female Animal with Hedy Lamarr) after extensive studio re-editing without Welles’ authorization or creative input, he was appalled, bitter, disappointed and disillusioned both with the quality of the final product and with his future chances of establishing himself as a triumphant director within the studio system.
YOUTUBE THE FEMALE ANIMAL
The Female Animal (1958) *RARE* Theatrical Trailer
It is said that when a woman fights for a man, she is like an ANIMAL!
Trivia: George Nader replaced John Gavin in the male lead.
Hedy Lamarr plays the mother of Jane Powell. In real-life, there was only a 14-year age difference between the two stars.
Stars: Hedy Lamarr, Jane Powell, Jan Sterling
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Failing to prosper at the box office, Touch of Evil was written off by Universal as a failure, sealing Welles’ fate in America, but found its audience in Europe right away. This success has plenty to do with the film’s unexpected appearance at the 1958 Brussels World Fair without the studio’s blessing: not only was Touch of Evil named best film at the competition, but Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut sat on the jury, lauding Welles’ picture and preparing the turf for a warm and enthusiastic welcome Welles could have only dreamed of back in the States. Getting the directing gig by chance and thanks to the two-decade old reputation from the glory days of Citizen Kane, enjoying a fruitful, harmonious production without any hints as to the possibility of any significant studio interference, Welles felt he had a masterpiece in his hands. It took a couple of decades and the admiration of film lovers from a whole other continent for Touch of Evil to gain the reputation it fortunately still enjoys today.
The dark, convoluted, spiraling story of a Mexican and American investigator battling for dominance in a corrupt, gritty little border town was based on the novel ‘Badge of Evil’ written by American authors Robert Allison Wade and H. Bill Miller, who published their work under the pen name of Whit Masterson.
The story might seem a bit tricky to follow the first time you watch the film, but it’s not the narrative that mesmerizes and attracts you during first contact. “I’d seen the film four or five times before I noticed the story,” confessed Peter Bogdanovich to Welles,
explaining it was the direction and cinematography that blew him away. The re-appreciation of
Touch of Evil lauds
its spatial choreography, effective acting improvisations, and especially the work of expert cinematographer (
Links to an external site.) Russell Metty. It’s curious to note Metty’s relationship with Welles started on somewhat uneasy terms. Impressing RKO by his work on
Bringing Up Baby (1938), Metty was hired for the infamous reshoot of Welles’
The Magnificent Ambersons (
Links to an external site.).
As we know, Welles finished production and went to South America to help the United States’ government boost its relations with those countries, and in his absence, RKO hired two directors (Robert Wise, Fred Fleck) and Metty to provide additional scenes for Welles’ classic adaptation of Booth Tarkington’s novel. It’s safe to say Welles was largely displeased with the studio’s decision, but found Metty’s work impressive enough to swallow his pride and bring him in to work on his film
The Stranger and, later,
Touch of Evil. His mastery is aptly demonstrated (
Links to an external site.) at the very start of the film, with the breathtaking, over three minutes long tracking shot. It’s a huge pity this sequence was tarred in the original release by the studio’s choice to paste the distracting credits and Henry Mancini’s theme to it, but the later versions thankfully corrected this mistake.
Not the greatest quality video, but the only one I could find with Czar of Noir Eddie Muller introducing Touch of Evil at the Egyptian Theater in LA.
Eddie Muller introduces "Touch of Evil"; Noir City, SIFF Egyptian (2/20/2019)
TCM YOUTUBE Comments on Touch of Evil -
Link HereBen Mankowitz instead of Eddie Muller
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