Touch of Evil (dir. O. Welles, 1958, USA, 112 mins., PG-13)

Film noir doesn’t get as seedy or as exhilarating as this. Orson Welles’ final Hollywood studio film delves into the underbelly of racism and opportunism with a tale of a Mexican-American border town murder and the police officer (Welles). Charlton Heston plays a distrustful Mexican narcotics officer and Janet Leigh is his new bride, a target of retaliation. A baroque nightmare with shadow-laden cinematography and a score by Henry Mancini, Touch of Evil dissects the nature of good and evil with hallucinatory verve. This version is the restored 1998 re-release based on a detailed memo written by Welles after the studio cut his original. Shown in 35 mm.

Before the film, actor/director/author Peter Bogdanovich (author of This Is Orson Welles) speaks about Welles’ artistic legacy. After the film, IU Emeritus Professor of Film Studies James Naremore (author of The Magic World of Orson Welles) joins Bogdanovich for a Q&A with the audience about the film.

This program made possible by the Myrtie Shumacker Lecture Fund.