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 the removal of Harry Keller's hotel lobby scene. Rick Schmidlin produced the 1998 edit, which had a limited but successful theatrical release (again by Universal) and was subsequently made available on DVD. The DVD includes a reproduction of the 58-page memo. Originally scheduled to be premiered at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival with Janet Leigh, Walter Murch and Rick Schmidlin attending, the screening was canceled at the eleventh hour after threats of litigation from Welles's daughter, Beatrice Welles. Her suit against Universal, for not consulting her or obtaining her consent prior to the reworking of "Touch of Evil", was settled