Blast from the Past: Orson Welles’ “Touch of Evil” Revisited
We have seen single-track shots, from the many single-take sequences in Hitchcock’s Rope, the Copacabana entrance in Scorsese’s Goodfellas to the war montage in Atonement, etc.
But the greatest example of this difficult and comlex undertaking is the opening crane shot in Orson Welles’ noir masterpiece, Touch of Evil.
Blending style and substance, the scene tracks the journey of a car bomb in the background, as newly married couple, Charlton Heston and Janet Leigh, walk towards the U.S.-Mexican border in the foreground.
The tension is rising gradually and impressively for three-and-a-half minutes before the bomb explodes in a ball of flames, kicking off the plot.
The famous sequence has been imitated by De Palma, Altman, Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson, but Welles’ effort remains the benchmark and towering achievement.
Curio Facts:
At the time, not much was made of the interracial couple, of a white actor, Charles Heston, playing a Mexican, and a white woman, Janet Leigh.
Originally, Welles was only supposed to act in the film, but he was allowed to direct in order to keep star Charlton Heston happy.
Welles clashed with the studio, including his wish to eliminate the credits from the iconic opening scene.
Welles’ character Captain Quinlan never appears without his hat.
