Touch of Evil and The Third Man

The good news and the bad news on these movies? Bad news first. I’m sorry but Touch of Evil, as a movie, was a clunker. However….there were a bunch of good things about it. Firstly, a young and very pretty Janet Leigh. Then there’s Charlton Heston. The makeup on Orson Welles to make his character look as evil on the outside as he was on the inside. Dennis Weaver playing a deranged motel night manager. Cameo appearances by none other than Zsa Zsa Gabor and Marlene Dietrich (not one of my personal favorites, but a lot of people like her). And finally, Ray Collins, who’ll always be known to me as Lt. Tragg on the Perry Mason series.

The good news? The Third Man was the polar opposite of Touch of Evil.  A marvelous, suspenseful movie. Compare the two Orsons. What a difference. One disgusting. One so suave. And finally, Joseph Cotton. Would you think less of me if I said I had a thing for Joseph Cotton. I just like him, the way he looks, the way he acts, the characters he plays. I just love his movies. The Magnificant Ambersons? What a great movie. But I digress. He and his female co-star, Alida Valli, had a chemistry.

There were no femme fatales, per se, in these movies. Remember, I got the names from the book Dani Noir, in which she envisioned femme fatales and noir movies. While both were definitely noir movies, if I had to pick one, I’d pick The Third Man.

Next on the list: Lady from Shanghai.