Length of Film: 95 minutes
Director: Orson Welles
Cast: Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Orson Welles, Joseph Calleia, Akim Tamiroff, Joanna Cook Moore, Ray collins, Dennis Weaver, Valentin de Vargas, Mort Mills, Victor Millan, Lalo Rios, Risto, Michael Sargent, Phil Harvey, Joi Lansing
Miguel "Mike" Vargas (Charlton Heston) a drug enforcement officer for the Mexican government and Susie (Janet Leigh) are on their honeymoon by the border of Mexico.
While walking, they witness a car being blown up. Police Captain Hank Quinlan (Orson Welles) and Quinlan's longtime partner, Pete Menzies (Joseph Calleia) arrive on scene. Vargas decides to throw himself into the game, since it was a Mexican bomb on US soil, and sends his wife to safely stay at an motel in the middle of nowhere.
Quinlan and Menzies points their finger on Sanchez, who is secretly married to the victim's brother. In a shoe box they find the exact type of bombs. Quinlan purposefully placed the bombs there, because he wanted to close the case fast. This wasn't the first time he has falsely accused suspects by tampering with evidence. Quinlan is why the movie is titled "Touch of Evil".
In the meantime, Susie is stuck in a motel, owned by Grandi (Akim Tamiroff) the brother of one of Vargas' case. Grandi has a personal vendetta so he makes a deal with Quinlan where they would drug Susie and travel her to a different hotel Grandi owns. What ends up happening is Quinlan kills Grandi and decides to frame Susie in murdering Grandi.
Vargas works with Quinlans partner, and has him carry a tape recorder, to document that Quinlan is NOT a good guy and that he has planted false evidence. Quinlan shoots his partner, falls to the ground, and while Vargas and Quinlan have a stand off, Menzies shoots and kills Quinlan.
The biggest complaint I have about this movie is the fact that Charlton Heston, a white male, playing a mexican. THEY PAINTED HIM BROWN!!!! I had no idea who the actor was in the movie. I kept thinking, 'It looks like he's wearing make-up. Is he wearing make-up?' In the credits, Vargas was played by Charlton Heston. A white actor known for his roles in movies such as Ben-Hur, Planet of the Apes, and The Ten Commandments. I cannot believe that in 1958, they couldn't hire an actor with Mexican descent to play a leading role in a movie. They had to apply make-up to make him look like he has dark skin.
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