Mike Vargas (Charlton Heston) is a narcotics investigator, attempting to uncover the facts surrounding a car bomb that has killed a wealthy American businessman on the US side of the border. As Vargas investigates, his new wife Susie (Janet Leigh) is kidnapped by a gang out to exact vengeance for the prosecution of the brother of their leader. Meanwhile, Vargas' enquiries become progressively more complicated by the American cop Hank Quinlan (Welles) who alternately conspires with Susie's captors and seeks solace with brothel madame Tanya (Marlene Dietrich).

A sweat-drenched saga of intrigue, Orson Welles’ final Hollywood film remains as gripping now as it was nearly 70 years ago.

“A sweaty thriller conundrum on character and corruption, justice and the law, worship and betrayal, it plays havoc with moral ambiguities.” Time Out

Inspired by the 50th anniversary restoration of Francis Ford Coppola’s neo-noir thriller The Conversation (at QFT from Sat 13 July), we are spending July looking at noir detectives, from classic noir’s police investigators to neo-noir’s common people turned amateur sleuths.