TOUCH OF EVIL by Richard Deming is an interesting analysis of the classic noir movie “Touch of Evil” starring and directed by Orson Wells in comparison to the novel that inspired it, “Badge of Evil” by Whit Masterson.

I took a chance on this one as I’d read novels by Richard Deming that I liked, and am glad I did as I enjoy analyzing both books and films, especially in the noir genre.

Recommended to fans of noir and movies made from novels.

4 stars

An interesting read that I'm glad to have discovered. I'll definitely be seeking out more by this author. I love this film.

With an obvious love of the film, Richard Deming's study of Touch of Evil is a brilliant addition to the BFI's books. Starting with a brief introduction to Film Noir without going into it too much to distract from the book central source, Demming describes how Welles other films such as Citizen Kane and The Lady from Shanghai sit within this brilliant 17 year period of films and how it is now regarded by many to have culminated with Touch of Evil.
In a well-researched book, Richard Deming analysis of how Welles, along with his cinematographer Russell Metty, utilised techniques of light and camera movement/positioning to create a film packed full themes of duality and unsympathetic characters.
This is one for film fans and aficionados that will want you to go and watch Touch of Evil as soon as you have finished the last page. It also provides a good grounding for the reader to seek out Welles other films such as the lesser-known The Stranger and his great adaptation of Kafka's The Trial. Brilliant.

Writing a BFI Classic you are setting out your stall for your chosen movie. This is why this movie is great, this is why it deserves your attention. This is why its the best movie ever made.

Actually very few do that last thing, because its madness to set that stall. But I do feel for Deming here, as he clearly loves Touch Of Evil, but knows that Citizen Kane is better. Unlike the recent monograph on Rosemary's Baby (which might not be Polanski's best film but the book used chronology and genre to obfuscate away from say Chinatown), Touch Of Evil sits there as a genre masterpiece from a director who was pretty anti-genre, a studio film which the studio undermined. Its tensions are all around adaptation, the system and its own dark cynicism. Deming does make an excellent case for the film - the film makes an excellent case for itself - but the shadow of Welles (and Kane) hangs over it.

This is the most auteurist of the recent BFI monographs I have read, and that is at least a degree justified by Welles. The book does give some time to Mancini's score, and the cinematographer but dismisses the source novel pretty quickly, and - despite Charlton Heston's role in getting Welles hired - and the presence of Janet Leigh and Marlene Dietrich, the book isn't that interested in their contribution. Instead it spends a solid amount of time wondering if Touch Of Evil (the last great noir) is actually a noir, and what its about. All the while peppering the text with the right kind of evidence for its points. This does mean however it reads more like a MA thesis than a truly personal take on the subject (which I loved about the Babette's Feast Classic). This is an essential book to have on hand if you are interested in Welles or Noir, but is much more a synthesis than much new. The discussion on the various versions skates around larger topics (what is a "true version") and never really discussing the browning up of certain actors is a mis-step when the film is partially about race and its intersection with certain star archetypes. Its a solid good bit of work on the film, and I burnt through it and of course it made me want to rewatch the film - but it lacked the special sauce that makes the best of these books.

The 1958 Orson Welles film, Touch of Evil, is analyzed from a filmmaker’s perspective. Unfortunately, there is little new information here. It reads like a master’s thesis regarding other’s writers’ analyses of the film. 10% of the book is the Notes section referencing other sources. Another 5% of the book is an extensive bibliography.

This book would be useful for beginning film students. It would also be interesting for fans of the movie, Touch of Evil. However, I wanted a more in depth study of the time when the movie was made. Don’t just tell me a bi-racial couple or a Mexican policeman as a hero was shocking. Show me the context of American culture at the time of the movie’s creation. 3 stars.

Thanks to British Film Institute, Bloomsbury Academic, and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

I suggest you read the much better entry in this series on Rosemary’s Baby, which I rated 5 stars.

I received this book from Bloomsbury Academic through Netgalley for review and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Yet another fine book from this press. I'm enjoying this series of film reference books immensely. Focusing on the effects of realism, Touch of Evil has a stellar cast and an eerie mood as it explores the fluidity of time and movement. Several themes are discussed; violence, sexual tension and threat of rape, cruelty and the grotesque. With lighting and use of decaying set, the mood is set for this noir. I highly recommend this series of books for film makers and students of the craft. For the layperson, this is a wonderful discussion of the noir genre.

One of many things to love about this BFI series, is that it's perfect to 'catch up' on your classics - you watch a film you've always wanted to see, and then read the accompanying book from the series. (I've already ordered a couple of other titles.)

So I did exactly this for Touch of Evil - I watched the revised edition. Beautiful film, of course, and genuinely thrilling. The book explains a lot of the trouble the film encountered, be it from the studio or from Welles'.. lets say, temperament. Unsurprisingly, much of the book is on the opening scene, which is one long traveling shot.

The author links the film to expressionism, but I feel he doesn't explain this very well. Overall I felt that the book didn't go deep enough - just before I read Rosemary's Baby in the same series, and that had some genuinely eye-opening analysis. I missed that here.

3.5 stars

this a book explaining the film noir classic movies, a fan of the old movies I picked this book to understand the rationale of film noir in American film , yes it really was a good book explaining the genre. I think the author took to time to research this subject, great book , thanks

Touch of Evil is a deep dive into the classic Orson Welles film by Richard Deming. One of the great, and still underrated films of the 20th century (in my opinion) Deming takes the film loving reader through the movie, it's history, the intricacies of the production choices, as well as where it deservedly stands in the history of cinema.

What did not surprise me was how much time the author spent on the opening shot of the movie, and yet he revealed more than I have ever read or heard on the topic. Additionally, what surprised me was the writer's pairing this moving with the Maltese Falcon as ways of bookending the movie genre' of "film noir." I had never thought of Touch of Evil in that way, but the author makes a strong case for it.

Another plus about this read about the film is that the writer takes care to make it very accessible. One does not need to be a film student to understand the references, etc. In summary, if you love movies, love film noir, or love the films of Orson Welles, particularly Touch of Evil, than this book is a worthy read.