TOUCH OF EVIL has a deep, dark heart and a wicked little mind. Made in the late 1950s, when its look at sexuality, drugs, racism and corruption was heart-stoppingly controversial, this B-movie noir classic disturbs viewers even now with its wink-wink-nudge-nudge look at the part of the world most would rather forget. Hard luck cops, shifty hoods, fabulous dames of questionable standards and cheeky cameos by director Orson Welles' friends (watch for one by the lovely and talented Zsa Zsa Gabor) populate the film. And they're all trying to get away with it, get away from it, or get the person who did it in this little Mexican border town.

The struggles around this picture didn't stop with its subject matter and are part of what makes the film's newest re-release significant. The version of TOUCH OF EVIL released in 1958 was completely disowned by Welles after numerous ugly battles with Universal Studios over the final cut. Welles was so thoroughly unhappy with the studio's version of the film he wrote a 58-page memo detailing the ways he believed the film should have been changed to honor his intent when making it. This latest rerelease now on DVD from Universal Home Video - featuring a total remastering of the film's sound by audio guru Walter Murch - attempts to address many of the director's wishes and present the noir masterpiece as Welles intended.

Maybe the saddest hard luck story surrounding TOUCH OF EVIL is just hinted at in Welles' own script for the film. The line Marlene Dietrich, playing a saloon keeper and tarot card reader, said to Welles when he ordered her to read his future in the cards was sadly, ironically prophetic. "You haven't got any. Your future is all used up," she answers him.

TOUCH OF EVIL was not just Welles first film in 10 years; it was also his last American film ever...

» Talking "Evil" With Janet Leigh          
» Restoring "Evil" with Walter Murch          
» 'Touch Of Evil' disc review