Badge of Evil Badge of Evil Badge of Evil is a novel written by Whit Masterson (a pseudonym used by the authors Robert Allison “Bob” Wade and H. Bill Miller) and published in 1956. This novel was the basis for the 1958 movie "Touch of Evil", directed by Orson Welles and co-starring Charlton Heston and Janet Leigh. A man named Rudy Linneker is killed when a mysterious killer blows up his house using a couple of sticks of dynamite. Assistant district attorney Mitch Holt is called to the case as well as police officers Leron McCoy and Hank Quinlan. The pair have gained
Touch of Evil that would have happened." Although Universal Pictures did its best to prevent "Touch of Evil" from being selected for the 1958 Brussels World Film Festival—part of the Expo 58 world's fair—the film received its European premiere and Welles was invited to attend. To his astonishment, Welles collected the two top awards. "Touch of Evil" received the International Critics Prize, and Welles was recognized for his body of work. "Touch of Evil" was placed #64 on American Film Institute's "100 Years, 100 Thrills" list in 2001. Roger Ebert added "Touch of Evil" to his Great Movies list in 1998. He praised