“Touch of Evil can be referred to as the most outstanding masterpieces in Hollywood movies of Orson Welles, who directed and starred in it. The film turned out to be the object of the public, critics, and even governmental interest of the late 1950s due to its hidden context and the main idea. Welles managed to depict the epoch of extremely tense interrelations between The USA and Mexico at that time. He tried to reveal the ideas of racism, stereotypes, and corruption predominating in Mexican and American societies of the late ’50s; the basic theme of the movie is shown through the elements of stereotypes and prejudices between the nations.
The storyline of the movie is extremely complicated. The actions take place on the border between Mexico and the USA. The central storyline begins with the explosion of an automobile. The just-married couple, Susan and Miguel Vargas, is destined to be eyewitnesses of that accident and become involved in the investigation of that case: Miguel as a representative of the Mexican government and the chief drugs officer, and Susan as his wife and the victim of criminals. One more central figure of the film is sheriff Hank Quinlan whose presence in the storyline is utterly significant; he is a protagonist in the movie. He came to the place where the accident occurred to conduct an investigation. He is a justice supporter and an avenger for his wife’s death:
Quinlan, whose obsession with his own brand of justice is motivated by the long-ago murder of his wife, is equally determined to get Vargas out of his hair, and he makes a deal with local crime boss Uncle Joe Grandi (Thompson, 117)
It turns out at the end of the film that Quinlan, who was considered a decent policeman, is a killer who does not care about moral values and human feelings. Susan and Miguel Vagals turn into absolutely other characters at the end of the movie. Once being a law-abiding policeman, Miguel turns into a vindictive madman, and his wife becomes more and more involved in the abyss of evil and drug affairs. The film has a happy end: Quinlan’s story is revealed, Quinlan himself is killed, and the couple leaves the terrible city where they endured so many adventures.
The theme of stereotypes disclosed in the movie refers to Aryan-American culture being combined with the negative influence of Quinlan elements. The movie combines sophisticated cultural interrelations expressed through prejudices and historical conflict between the cultures and the states.
“The surface themes of Touch of Evil are easy to spot, and the clash between the national cultures gets an ironic flip: Vargas reflects gringo stereotypes while Quinlan embodies clichés about Mexican lawmen.” (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times)
The technical side of the movie is brilliant; the Skillful work of the camera and impressive scenes demonstrated throughout the movie make the story involving and emotional. It is necessary to underline the fact that the film is filled with unusual shots and camera tricks. The shooting of “Touch of Evil” took place in the urban scenery places of the Mexican border. Generally, no camera tricks were used to shoot the movie, and Welles did not intend to approximate reality. The film was shot in the late ’50s when the use of technical equipment was utterly limited by black-and-white color only, and though, mostly, actions take place in the dark places with shadows, the camera operator managed to emphasize the exotic scenery of Mexico even with black-and-white color.
Welles achieved a new low in ramshackle buildings, locations, and degeneracy, as played most by the US-for-Mexico shooting (Cornito, T., Welles, O. 215).
In “Touch of Evil,” Welles discloses the most controversial themes of that age:
- Stereotypes about Mexicans that had an image of Bandido (Charles Ramirez Berg, 2);
- Political conflict between the USA and Mexico –the very beginning of the film is the director’s ironic way to depict that conflict (TOUCH OF EVIL 1958; They Had Faces Then: Belushi, Chaplin, Stewart…, 138);
- Corporate corruption – Quinlan, the US policeman, is depicted as a fat and ugly man who has the only objective: to finish his cases no matter what that might cost him.
The movie under analysis is a prominent one due to the bright illustration of the principle ideas and professional techniques. It is very thought-provoking and requires a deep understanding of the plot; nevertheless, Touch of Evil managed to reflect the peculiarities of its epoch with its stereotypes and prejudices.
Works Cited
Berg Ramírez, Ch.Latino Images in Film: Stereotypes, Subversion, Resistance. University of Texas Press, 2002.
Comito, T., Welles, O. Touch of Evil: Orson Welles, Director. Rutgers University Press, 1985.
Thompson, H. “Touch of Evil”. The New York Times. 1958.
Zacharek St. “TOUCH OF EVIL 1958; The Had Faces Then: Belushi, Chaplin, Stewart…”. New York Times. 2008.