WORLD TOUR Day 62 - Mexico/California border ?
BEFORE: Apparently there are three versions of this film - including the 1958 release version, which included reshoots authorized by the studio and NOT director Orson Welles (last seen in "The Long Hot Summer"), and a 1976 longer version which was billed as "complete and restored", yet was not. I'll be watching the 1998 version, edited by Walter Murch according to suggestions made by Welles in a 58-page memo (!) to Universal's head of production regarding what changes needed to be made for the film to work.
Besides the Mexican connection, both this film and last night's film underwent forced recuts by their studios, forcing disagreements with their directors. Perhaps this is more commonplace than we all realize, but I think it's worth mentioning. Linking actors from "All the Pretty Horses", Bruce Dern was also in a film titled "Number One" with Charlton Heston (last heard in "Cats & Dogs") - I barely skated by with that one.
THE PLOT: Stark, perverse story of murder, kidnapping, and police corruption in Mexican border town.
AFTER: This is a bit of a strange film - it's almost like a B-Movie with A-list talent. Perhaps it's the successor to those noir films of the 1930's and 40's, where we're presented with our hero, his woman, and a town full of shady characters and suspects. The film is almost TOO complicated, to the point where the solution of the opening murder is almost an afterthought to all of the other proceedings.
Welles was 43 when this film was released - and like he did at the end of "Citizen Kane", he's playing an older, fatter character. The irony in both cases is that if he'd just waited a few years, he would have fit the bill perfectly. Before I went to film school and watched "Kane", I only knew Welles as the spokesman in commercials for Paul Masson wines, which played upon his reputation as a gourmand. The line "We will sell no wine before its time" became legendary in the ad business, but if you want some laughs, listen to the outtakes on YouTube of Welles reading copy (and complaining about it!) in commercials for frozen peas and fish filets.
I just obtained a biography of Welles, and I look forward to reading it during my upcoming down time. I think I like the IDEA of Orson Welles, the independent director who also was able to eat 18 hot dogs in one sitting at Pink's in L.A. From the radio broadcast of "The War of the Worlds" to "Citizen Kane" - but did his career peak too soon? Did he spend decades chasing some kind of impossible storytelling ideal, when he might have already achieved it? Perhaps I'll gain some insight from that book.
Anyway, the film. The opposing forces are a Mexican attorney who's so dedicated that he leaves his wife alone during their honeymoon to investigate the murder, and on the other side of the border is a corrupt policeman who's got one of the highest conviction rates in the country, which could have something to do with a history of planting evidence. But does this make him a corrupt cop, or just a lazy cop? It's mentioned that he's also a brilliant detective - so if he's usually right about who's guilty, why the need to plant evidence? Laziness seems to be the only explanation.
NITPICK POINT: Vargas' wife is brought to a hotel, which consists of a bunch of separate cabins, and informed she is the only guest staying there. Doesn't she find it weird when a loud party seems to be taking place in the room next door? First of all, there wouldn't BE a room next door if the cabins were separated, and secondly, if she's the only guest, who's throwing the party?
While the film does not disclose its exact setting, the original novel "Badge of Evil" was set in a small California town. This film could take place anywhere along the Mexican border, but I'm placing it in California, in someplace that would be large enough to have an official border crossing, but is quiet enough to not be Tijuana. (Welles reportedly wanted to shoot in Tijuana, but settled for locations in Venice, CA.) This helps me make the final leg of the journey tomorrow, up to San Francisco where this crazy chain began.
Also starring Janet Leigh (last seen in "The Manchurian Candidate"), Joseph Calleia, Dennis Weaver, with cameos from Zsa Zsa Gabor and Marlene Dietrich.
DISTANCE TRAVELED TODAY: 932 miles / 1,500 km (Cuatro Cienagas, Mexico to Mexicali, Mexico)
DISTANCE TRAVELED SO FAR: 47,578 miles / 76,571 km
RATING: 6 out of 10 leather jackets
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