Editing Touch of Evil (section)

=== Casting ===
Welles selected [[Janet Leigh]] for the role of Susan Vargas. Before her agent had notified her of the casting, Welles contacted Leigh via telegram stating how delighted he was to work with her on ''Badge of Evil''. She contacted her agent, and accepted the part.{{sfn|Leigh|1984|page=215}}{{sfn|Leaming|1985|page=419}} [[Dennis Weaver]] was asked to audition as the night manager after Welles had watched him as Chester Goode on ''[[Gunsmoke]]''. He was instructed to improvise.{{sfn|Brady|1989|page=500}} Meanwhile, Zugsmith had met [[Joanna Cook Moore]] at a party, and was determined that she was right for the role as Marcia Linnekar.<ref>Schallert, Edwin (February 9, 1955). [https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/381041587/ "Newcomers Win Capital Film Breaks; Robinson to Enact Mad Bomber"]. ''Los Angeles Times''. Part III, p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.</ref> Welles rounded out the supporting cast with [[Akim Tamiroff]], whom he previously cast in ''[[Mr. Arkadin]]'' (1955),{{sfn|Callow|2015|pages=253–254}} while [[Joseph Cotten]], [[Ray Collins (actor)|Ray Collins]], [[Marlene Dietrich]], and [[Keenan Wynn]] agreed to appear in the film for union pay scale and without screen credit. Zugsmith also insisted that his friend [[Zsa Zsa Gabor]] be given a cameo in the film. Ultimately, all actors were paid over union scale and given screen credit.{{sfn|Brady|1989|pages=499–500}}

Having known [[Mercedes McCambridge]] since her time at Mercury Theatre, Welles called her and requested she arrive at the set. Leigh and the actors dressed as "greasy-looking hoodlums" stood around waiting for Welles to start filming. Welles had McCambridge's hair cut and applied black shoe polish over her newly trim hair and eyebrows. According to her memoir: "They brought a black leather jacket from somewhere, and I was 'ready.' Orson said he wanted a heavy, coarse Mexican accent. I said, 'You've got it!'"{{sfn|McCambridge|1981|pages=403–404}}
[[File:Touch-of-Evil-1851-26.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Orson Welles]] (Quinlan), [[Victor Millan]] (Sanchez), [[Joseph Calleia]] (Menzies), and [[Charlton Heston]] (Vargas)]]
[[Joseph Calleia]] was cast as Quinlan's longtime partner Pete Menzies, giving Welles an opportunity to work with an actor he had long admired. "What an actor—Joseph Calleia", said Welles:

<blockquote>I fell in love with him as a ten-year-old boy. I saw him in [[Small Miracle|a play in New York]] ... a very well-staged melodrama which was an enormous hit for about a year—it was made as a [[Four Hours to Kill!|movie]] later with somebody else. He had the leading role, and I never forgot him. And through the years I'd seen him in movies—little things. And I could never forget that performance of his. He's always played very stereotyped parts in pictures but is one of the best actors I've ever known. I have such respect for him. You play next to him and you just feel the thing that you do with a big actor—this dynamo going on.<ref name="TIOW">[[Orson Welles|Welles, Orson]], and [[Peter Bogdanovich]], edited by [[Jonathan Rosenbaum]], ''[[This Is Orson Welles]]''. New York: HarperCollin Publishers 1992 {{ISBN|0-06-016616-9}}.</ref>{{Rp|298}}</blockquote>

"Even among these performers, one man's sincerity stands out," wrote George E. Turner, film historian and editor of ''[[American Cinematographer|The American Cinematographer]]''. "Joseph Calleia, a veteran actor from Malta, makes Menzies the most realistic and touching character in the film. ... His agony is the true touchstone of the film."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Turner |first=George E. |date=September 1998 |title=A Cop Gone Wrong: Touch of Evil |url=https://theasc.com/articles/cop-gone-wrong-touch-of-evil |magazine=[[American Cinematographer]] |location= |publisher= |access-date=April 30, 2024}}</ref>