Touch of Evil was based on Whit Masterson's pulp novel Badge of Evil. The project sat on producer Albert Zugsmith's shelf for some time before it saw the light of day.

Through a misunderstanding, Charlton Heston, the star of Touch of Evil, thought Welles was going to direct the film. When he learned otherwise, he insisted that the studio offer Welles the job. Universal's head of post-production, Edward Nims, had worked happily with Welles in the '40s, and seconded the recommendation.

Despite Orson Welles' tarnished professional reputation, Universal eventually agreed to hire Welles for the film, but his fee was only for his acting. His writing and directing efforts would be at no charge.

Even though Charlton Heston was mostly responsible for putting Orson Welles in the director's chair, William Alland, then a Universal Studios executive, might have also had a hand in Welles' good fortune. A long-time associate of Welles', Alland plays the anonymous reporter who traces the elusive mystery of Rosebud in Citizen Kane.

One important change that Orson Welles made in adapting the novel Badge of Evil involved the main protagonist. An Anglo-American named Mitch Holt in the novel, the hero became Miguel "Mike" Vargas, a Mexican narcotics agent.

by Scott McGee and Frank Miller