Badge of Evil (Whit Masterson, 1956)

The book on which my favourite Orson Welles movie, Touch of Evil, is based. To be honest, I had no idea that the film was even based on a book until the back blurb on this one caught my attention in the bookstore. And since I'm obviously not Orson's die-hard fan, I must admit that he did one hell of a job on his screenplay. One of those rare occasions where the movie is much better than the original book.

It's simply not hard-boiled enough. A story about dirty cops, set in police stations and the DA's office, should be driven by strong characters and sharp dialogue, moving forward at a rapid pace. Smoking, drinking, cursing, fighting, etc. Or at least be a solid police procedural. Instead, we get a predictable "one against all, good against evil" tale of the white knight fighting for the ungrateful lady Justice against a flawed system orchestrated by weak politicians and compromised media.

And family shit, lots of it. Mitch's wife Connie is so pure, cool, beautiful, full of understanding and dedication to her hubby that she doesn't even bitch too much about their ever-postponed family vacation. I don't think that any of the authors had seen Fritz Lang's masterpiece The Big Heat, released a few years prior. Because if they did, Connie would be blown into pieces sometimes at the end of the first act, making Mitch go on a bloody revenge rampage. But nothing like that happens - our hero is confused and scared most of the time and gets a lucky break at the end.

Also didn't like the writing style much. Too technical and formulaic, so it never really takes off. Once the evidence fixing is established, the plot becomes almost nonexistent, and the whole thing shifts into boring drama/thriller mode. My speculation is that these kinds of narration problems may occur as a result of the collaboration between two writers working on the same book.

Decent enough material that, unfortunately, hasn't aged very well. But still immensely cool to read it if you like Touch of Evil. It's genuinely incredible how Wells managed to turn this unquestionably original, yet somehow mediocre, novel into a timeless masterpiece.

3/5

Facts:

Hero:
Mitch Holt, 35, assistant district attorney

He knew that soon he would be in a position to open his own private practice without unduly endangering the eating habits of his family.

Location: 
Some big town in southern California near the Mexican border. I assume that would be San Diego (it's definitely not LA), but probably the authors were vague about this intentionally to emphasise the metaphor about corruption and the weak legal system across America.

Body count: 

4 (2 suicides)

Dames: 
None really. His whining wife Connie hardly counts as a dame.

Blackouts: 

/

Title: 
Obviously, it alludes to McCoy, but I would hardly categorise a poor bastard as an evil one. He was merely an overworked asshole with a god complex. And since the title "Badge of an overworked asshole with a god complex" really does sound stupid, let's not bitch about it too much.

Cover: 
Good old-fashioned one, like all covers of Prologue Books are. It would be cool to put little figures of Holt, McCoy and Quinlan into the web.

Cool lines:  
To be a successful prosecutor was the same as being a successful salesman or a successful preacher. You had to believe in your product.

He settled for a stubby .32 pistol that had both convenience and authority.

The bullet tugged at the lapel of  Holt's coat in passing and then went on its way with a complaining whine of having missed.[The Coolest!]