Dan Duryea was in Scarlet Street with Robinson. Directed by Fritz Lang.
The Re-Edited Version of Touch of Evil
By Lawrence French
It's taken 40 years for the world to see Orson Welles TOUCH OF EVIL as the director intended it. And unlike some recent Welles films that have been restored, rediscovered or re-edited, (i.e. DON QUIXOTE, OTHELLO and IT'S ALL TRUE), the changes in TOUCH OF EVIL have been carried out with a scrupulous attention to detail, that is truly in the spirit of Orson Welles. Of course, no one can say for certain, just how Welles would have edited his movie, but with Welles' own 58 pages of editing instructions as a guide, producer Rick Schmidlin and editor Walter Murch have come up with the closest approximation that we're ever likely to get.
Why TOUCH OF EVIL needed to be re-edited in the first place is a rather complex tale, that requires a bit of background. In 1957, Universal took the film out of Welles hands, after he had spent about three months in the cutting room. As Welles was the first to admit, he worked very slowly while editing. "I could work forever on the editing of a film," Welles told Cahiers du Cinema in 1958. "I don't know why it takes me so much time, but that has the effect of arousing the ire of the producers, who then take the film out of my hands."
After completing a rough cut, in July of 1957, Welles left the editing of the film to Universal staff editor Aaron Stell. That fall, when Welles returned and was shown the results of the studio re-cut, Welles wrote a heart-felt 58 page letter to Universal head of production Edward Muhl. Unfortunately, most of Welles suggested changes went unheeded, and TOUCH OF EVIL was eventually released in February, 1958 in an aborted version that ran only 93 minutes. The 93 minute version was all that was available for 18 years, until 1976 when Universal put a longer 108 minute version they had accidentally uncovered in their archives into circulation.
Of course, in 1976 Welles was still alive, and in retrospect it seems rather unfortunate that Universal never bothered to consult him about making changes to TOUCH OF EVIL. However, at the time, the video and laserdisc market had yet to emerge, and the idea of a director's cut was virtually unheard of. Still, when Universal finally released the longer version of TOUCH OF EVIL on video, they mistakenly called it a "complete uncut restored version." This, however was certainly not the case, because although the long version had 15 minutes of additional footage, including three important scenes directed by Welles, it also contained more footage directed by Harry Keller. Universal hired Keller to shoot clarification scenes, after Welles had been removed from the picture. Yet why Universal executives would go to the expense of shooting these additional scenes and not include them in the released picture (the 93 minute version), has never been adequately explained. In any case, neither of the two versions of TOUCH OF EVIL that have been in circulation for the past 40 years are what Orson Welles intended. To correct that, the current re-editing was undertaken.
Part of the impetus behind the re-edit seems to be a vast interest and re-discovery of Orson Welles work, which is somewhat ironic, since Welles had so much difficulty financing projects while he was alive. For instance, it seems rather strange that two of Welles' unfilmed screenplays, THE BIG BRASS RING and THE CRADLE WILL ROCK are currently being filmed, yet during his lifetime, Welles couldn't get either project financed.
The possibility of re-editing TOUCH OF EVIL began in 1992, when Welles scholar Jonathan Rosenbaum published excerpts from Welles 58 page letter to Universal in FILM QUARTERLY. Subsequently, the letter came to the attention of producer Rick Schmidlin, who had long been a fan of TOUCH OF EVIL. Schmidlin was able to convince Universal on the merits of re-cutting the film, so that Welles' original intentions would finally be realized. The results, although well worth the 40 year wait, are surprising subtle. There is no new footage on view, nor any attempt (thankfully) to convert the original mono soundtrack to stereo, so none of the changes jump out at the viewer familiar with the previous versions. However, there is little doubt that the film plays better than ever before. In fact, as someone who has seen the previous versions countless times, I only wish it were somehow possible to be seeing TOUCH OF EVIL for the first time. Suffice it to say, if you've never seen TOUCH OF EVIL, you will have the richly rewarding experience of seeing it in a version that can finally be called "the director's cut.". The sad irony is Orson Welles is no longer around to see it for himself.
Following are some of the key changes accomplished by Walter Murch, Rick Schmidlin and Jonathan Rosenbaum:
The first and most obvious change comes in the famous opening shot, where in one long take, the camera introduces us to a car loaded with dynamite, as well as Vargas, and his new American bride, Susan. Universal printed opening credits over this nearly 4 minute crane shot, which follows Vargas, Susan and the car as they all cross the Mexican-American border. Welles rightly felt the credits distracted from the smooth flow of the sequence. "I always regretted that they put titles over it," Welles told Peter Bogdanovich. "It was meant to be done in the clear, with the titles at the end of the movie. It's a shame to see stuff written all over something that's important?-the whole story was in that opening shot."
After the car explodes, Vargas joins the American officials investigating the blast, and sends Susan back to the hotel. In Welles original version, the long scene where Susan is led by "Pancho" to a meeting with "Uncle Joe" Grandi, was meant to be broken-up by cutting back to the scene of the detonation. Welles wrote in his memo: "Resigned as I am to the fact that a great majority of my previous notes and suggestions have been disregarded, the case of the scene between Grandi and Susan is one of the few issues I feel justified in re-opening. This scene is just exactly a thousand percent more effective played, as it was first arranged, in two parts, with a cutaway to the scene of the explosion between those two parts.
"No matter how the scene is edited, this scene has?-and was intended to have?-a curious, rather inconclusive quality. It was written that way and directed and played that way. The audience is presented with a menacing villain who does not, in fact, succeed in being very menacing after all. He takes a threatening tone with Susan, but as it turns out, his threats are vague and the audience must begin to realize (if the scene works at all) that he's actually more frightened than frightening. Dividing this scene in two parts, as we intended, and keeping the situation with Vargas at the scene of the explosion "alive" in the audiences mind, is not to confuse but to clarify. Making a short contrapuntal reference to what is going on across the border underlines and precisely illustrates the correct values. Absolutely nothing is gained by gluing these two parts together, except to make the total scene seem rather long and rather shapeless. The shooting was done, for the most part, on location, certain reverses and close-ups having been picked up in the studio. Now I did not allow in shooting these for a version in two parts, and hence, there is no available footage for continuous action. As the editing now stands, the welding of these two parts has been managed with as much skill as the resources in actual film made possible, and I congratulate whoever made that attempt. It remains, however, just that: an attempt."
This scene is now restored, just as Welles describes it above, and works beautifully. Another major change comes with the welcome removal of a scene which has always been painfully obvious that Welles did not write, or direct (Harry Keller did). Vargas and Susan are reunited in the hotel lobby, standing against a nondescript backdrop that is so evenly lit, it clashes dramatically with the high contrast lighting of the two night-time scenes that surround it.
The sequence where Vargas drives Susan to the Mirador Motel, on the American side of the border, while unknowingly being tailed by Grandi, remains in the film, although much of it was once again shot by Harry Keller. In his memo, Welles revealed an elaborate contrast of sounds he planned to use to underline the sequence. He wrote: "the plan was for a quite interesting pattern of newscasts to be heard on the radios of the two cars and in two languages. When Vargas switched stations, there was to be a dreamy, old-fashioned Mexican waltz to take the place of the announcer's excited chatter, and thus underscore our short love scene with a sentimental note, nicely combining "local color" and, in realistic terms, perfectly justified. This pattern was to be rudely broken by the aggressive siren of Quinlan's car, and then?-after Vargas's departure in that car?-the gently picturesque lullaby would soothe Susan toward sleep as Menzies drove off with her."
Much of this sound pattern has been restored in the new re-edit, although some of the footage?-notably when Vargas stops his car and he begins kissing Susan?-was not shot by Welles. However, the dialogue is from Welles script, and in his memo, Welles refers to "our short love scene," leading one to suspect that for some mysterious reason, Universal discarded the scenes as Welles originally shot them, then decided to re-shoot them, using the same dialogue?-but for some unfathomable reason, with Harry Keller directing them. This is borne out by the next shot, where Quinlan's car arrives, and Menzies and Schwartz get out, while Quinlan is never seen. In Welles' scripted version, Quinlan does get out of the car, and starts giving orders, telling Menzies: "You drive this car; and Vargas will come with us." Apparently, the footage Welles directed of these sequences has been lost forever. In his memo, Welles further describes some of the sequence: "The excision of those quite colorful crane shots which feature Grandi's and Vargas's cars is less to be lamented, but I can't leave the sequence without registering doubts that the cut accomplishes much of anything in terms of pace. Establishing the oil derricks (rather surprising country, in which our closing scenes are played) was of some importance too. The audience, I believe, should be prepared for those derricks. This also was an element in a carefully built-up pattern?-in this instance, a visual pattern." From the above description, Welles' version of the scene was obviously shot amid or near the oil wells that serve as such a memorable backdrop for the film's finale. The new re-edit retains these scenes, since they contain important dialogue information, as written by Welles, but visually they are quite incongruous. The closing scene of this sequence, when Menzies drives Susan back to the motel, is done with a flat lighting style and jarringly obvious rear-screen projection. Menzies is also seen without his hat in this scene (for the only time in the film), which is a another small but telling clue that Welles didn't direct these shots. This becomes apparent at the end of the film, when right after Menzies shoots Quinlan, (and then dies), both his gun and his hat fall into the canal beneath him.
Of the other changes, many short sequences, inserts and reaction shots from the 93 minute version, that were not included in the 108 minute version, have now been combined. For instance, the scene where Risto tries to throw acid at Vargas. In the 108 minute version Menzies comes out of the strip-tease club, looks around puzzled, and we cut back to the interior of the club. In the 93 minute version, the scene continues when Menzies says, "anything wrong, Vargas?" Vargas replies, "I just couldn't catch him."
Finally, the entire negative has been beautifully restored, by Universal's in house preservation expert, Bob O'Neil. Welles originally shot most of the movie at night, on locations in Venice, California and (along with his cinematographer, Russell Metty), got the kind of rich blacks and high contrast look, that have become such a Welles trademark. Even if the film hadn't been re-edited to Welles specifications, it would be well worth taking a look at, solely for the pleasure of seeing this gorgeous photography on the big screen
As to how much influence Heston had on hiring Welles as director was instrumental in his getting the job: "I would work in any film directed by Orson Welles," I believe is the quote from Heston. However, Welles was never happy that Heston gave into the studio and allowed the film to be butchered (Welles' words). The Mancini score is one I own on CD, albeit a mono recording. I am a Mancini fan but it wasn't meant to be in the original opening scene and provided incidental music for the rest of the film. Welles was quite specific that he wanted the tinny Mexican music to filter in and out of the doorways of each cantina or shop as the camera performed the tracking shot to establish atmosphere. Mancini immediately got the job of scoring "Peter Gunn" after his break with the music for "Touch of Evil." Obviously, the studio cut didn't do what the studio wanted it to do -- the film was relegated to a second "B" picture run and failed at the box office. Harry Keller was no Welles -- for me, the insertion of his scenes in the short version were jarringly out of context.
thanks Larry,
...I see the femme fatale, was Joan Bennett. I also noticed it was made in 1945. So many good things happened in that year. "Stork club", color TV was invented, radios were put back in cars,the war ended, Booman was born.....but I digress.
