classic late period film noir directed by virtuoso orson welles. a sweaty thriller set in a hellish border town, it stars charlton heston as mike vargas, the self-righteous mexican cop who goes up against welles' monumental hank quinlan, an old-time detective who fabricates evidence in order to mount a case based on gut-instinct. famous for its incredibly choreographed seven-minute opening shot, henry mancini's powerful score, and the faded magnificence of the quinlan character, it is often considered to be welles' second masterpiece.