Touch of Evil (1958)

STORY – 0
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 1
CULT – 0

 

Verdict – 3/5

 

Pros –

 

1) Orson Welles as Captain Quinlan – unrecognizable with heavy make-up as the obese limping police captain
2) Opening scene – one continuous crane shot from the Mexican border to the bomb explosion

 

Cons –

 

1) The screenplay is incoherent with multiple sub-plots with ordinary outcomes
2) Marlene Dietrich – half-baked character

 

Quote –

 

Quinlan: That’s the second bullet I stopped for you.

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The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 1

Verdict – 4/5

 

Pros –

 

1) Definitive cold-war thriller.
2) A neo-noir sci-fi thriller way ahead of it’s time.
3) Janet Leigh as Eugenie Rose Chaney : short however captivating screen-presence
4) Mrs. Iselin’s monologue.
5) The solitaire trigger.

 
Cons –

 
N/A

 

Quote –

 

Mrs. Iselin: Why don’t you pass the time by playing a little solitaire?