Touch of Evil Touch of Evil Touch of Evil is a 1958 American film noir written, directed by and co-starring Orson Welles. The screenplay was loosely based on the novel "Badge of Evil" by Whit Masterson. Along with Welles, the cast includes Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Joseph Calleia, Akim Tamiroff and Marlene Dietrich. One of the last examples of film noir in the genre's classic period, its reputation has grown since its release, and it is now widely regarded as one of Welles's best motion pictures and one of the best classic-era films noir. In 1993, it was selected for preservation in the
Touch of Evil and was convinced that his Hollywood career was back on the rails. However, the film was then re-edited (and in part re-shot) by Universal International pictures. The editing process was protracted and disputed, and the version eventually released was not the film Universal or Welles had hoped for. It was released as a B-movie, the lower half of a double feature. The A-movie was "The Female Animal", starring Hedy Lamarr, produced by Albert Zugsmith and directed by Harry Keller, whom the studio had hired to direct the re-shot material in "Touch of Evil". The two films even had the same