Touch of Evil

A car bomb explodes in a Mexican border town, killing a wealthy American builder. Ramon Miguel Vargas, a Mexican narcotics official who has just arrived with his wife Susan, joins the investigation led by local police captain Hank Quinlan, a veteran known for his forceful methods. The inquiry soon becomes a contest between the two men, as each gathers damaging evidence against the other, while a local crime boss draws Susan into his schemes.

Orson Welles directed the film and wrote the screenplay; Albert Zugsmith produced it for Universal International Pictures. It followed Mr. Arkadin in Welles's filmography and came before The Trial. Charlton Heston plays Vargas and Janet Leigh plays his wife, with Welles himself as Quinlan. Joseph Calleia, Akim Tamiroff and Joanna Moore are among the credited cast of thirty-nine.

Released in March 1958, the film runs 111 minutes and belongs to the crime, drama, mystery and thriller genres. It is a modest box-office performer, with worldwide takings of about two million dollars, but has since found wide recognition. On IMDb it holds an 8 out of 10 rating from more than 108,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 7.7 out of 10 from a much smaller vote count. A critics' rating of 8.9 out of 10 from eighty-seven reviews places it above both audience scores.