From its legendary opening tracking shot through the streets of a Mexican border town, to its final haunting image of Marlene Dietrich walking into the darkness, 1958's Touch of Evil is an atmospheric slice of noir by none other than Orson Welles. Best known for being the auteur behind one of the greatest films of all time, Citizen Kane, Welles is virtually unrecognizable here in his turn as a police officer who's not above planting evidence. No longer the svelte, youthful boy-wonder who took Hollywood by storm, Welles is fat and grotesque here, his outward appearance mirroring his inner corruption. The film also has the added attraction of Charlton Heston as a Mexican narcotics official and Janet Leigh as his newlywed. Touch of Evil is being show as part of Tampa Theatre's Summer Classic Movie Series. Sun., July 8, 3 p.m., Tampa Theatre, 711 N. Franklin St., Tampa, $7.50, 813-274-8981, tampatheatre.org.
This article appears in Jul 4-10, 2007.