American
Cinematographer – Touch of
Evil
George
Turner
March 1998
Source: American Cinematographer, March
1999, Vol. 80 Issue 3, p146, 1p
Item: 505799261
Russell Metty, a husky cinematographer who
had worked with Welles on The Stranger in 1946, was responsible for
mood-lighting the streets and byways of Venice. Most of the exteriors were
filmed night-for-night, with plenty of menacing shadows and garish lights.
Trash was dumped everywhere and wind machines kept it swirling. There are many
deep-focus shots looking up and down long streets.
On a smaller scale, but equally elaborate,
is a long take in which Welles, playing a corrupt detective, questions a
witness in a small apartment and plants evidence to frame him. Heston recalls
that it was "a very elaborate setup, with walls pulling out of the way as
the camera moved from room to room, and four principal actors plus three or
four bit players working through the scene." It covers 12 pages of
dialogue, lasts almost five minutes, and creates the impression of about 60
shots.
The hard-lit night scenes, with opaque
shadows and occasional dutch angles, are relieved only by a few lightly
diffused scenes in Marlene Dietrich's brothel. The picture's sustained tone of
menace is a tribute to Russell Metty's artistry.
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