While most movie fans are familiar with Orson Welles primarily for Citizen Kane, his later film noir is worthy of just as much attention as any other movie he made. Touch of Evil kicks off with a glorious tracking shot which has since gone down in the annals of movie history as one of the greatest of all time, then proceeds to delve into a seedy criminal underworld marked by deception, betrayal and murder. Hollywood has never been shy of what some have referred to as "racebending" in movies, although casting Charlton Heston as the Mexican character Ramon Miguel Vargas is certainly one of the more notable examples. It's not hard to see how this often comes over racially insensitive at best, and while you can argue that it shouldn't really matter if the performance is on top form, Heston's is a far cry from perfect, especially next to Welles's own towering efforts as Hank Quinlan. Still, it's not something that should put anyone off watching Touch of Evil if they haven't already seen it - as a masterclass in film noir as the genre all but disappeared it's essential viewing.
