The Touch... of EVIL!!

When Shawn Duplessie hit the "play" button, the beginning of Touch Of Evil appeared. Immediately, I was taken aback by the fact that it was in black and white, because I have never watched a black and white movie or tv show, for that matter. But it didn't take long for me to sort of forget that it was in black and white, because I was focusing on the storyline. It started out with Vargas, a detective, and his wife on their honeymoon, enjoying their time in Mexico. All of a sudden, a nearby car explodes. Someone had planted a bomb in it, and it is Vargas's job to figure out who. But Quinlan, a sloppy, overweight police officer who is always pictured smoking a cigar, stands in his way. Clearly there is hostility between the two, because Quinlan is plotting to destroy Vargas's career. He is trying to frame Susan, Vargas's American wife of making the car explode. He planted evidence, including a box full of explosives, to make it seem as though she was the culprit. But Vargas wasn't buying it, which angered Quinlan.

I am interested in seeing how this movie will turn out, and who will get convicted of the crime, if anyone. It annoys me that Quinlan is abusing his job, since he knows how to manipulate evidence due to his many years of experience. But I appreciate how Orson Wells, the actor who played Quinlan, and the movie's director, had such a strong character. As I said before, he always had a cigar either in his mouth or in his hand, along with a candy bar. In the scene at the bar, it was clear that he was also a heavy drinker. He also used a cane, and there were plenty of moments when he appeared out of breath and exhausted. He spoke rather unclearly, slurring his words (maybe he had a little too much to drink...). All of this contributes to his sloppy character, one that sticks out to me more than anyone else's. He was also racist and ignorant, and thought that Mexicans were inferior to him. He even said the notable line "I don't speak Mexican" despite the fact that Mexican is not even a language. I'm surprised he didn't make a comment about tacos.

Aside from the characters, I took some time to notice the cinematography and special effects used. It's so weird, in this day and age, to think that cameras actually existed back in 1958, when Touch of Evil was made. And to be honest, the camerwork was not all that bad. Sure, there were some instances of a shaky camera in instances that would never occur in today's films, but overall I had no issue with the way the camera was used. It's also interesting to think about how the movie production team was able to display the exploding car. Compared to modern films, which use top-notch animation programs, this effect was poor, and extremely unrealistic. But I still wonder how it was created before this computer software was years away from being created.

At first, I wondered why you are showing us this film Mr. Monahan, immediately disappointed that it was in black and white. I wondered, "Why couldn't he show us something much newer?" But now, I'm glad that I've gotten the chance to watch it, and look forward to finishing the film on Tuesday.