Marianne Mays Bücher

Orson Welles' classic 1958 noir movie Touch of Evil, the story of a corrupt police chief in a small town on the Mexican-American border, starring Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh and Marlene Dietrich, is widely recognised as one of the greatest noir films of Classical Hollywood cinema. Richard Deming's study of the film considers it as an outstanding example of the noir genre and explores its complex relationship to its source novel, Badge of Evil by Whit Masterson. He traces the film's production history, and provides an insightful close analysis of its key scenes, including its famous opening sequence, a single take in which the camera follows a booby-trapped car on its journey through city streets and across the border.

Imbued with sensitivity and a touch of memoir reflecting Deming's own struggles with loneliness, this work is a meditation on how loneliness permeates the human condition and can inspire creativity. Loneliness is often stigmatized, dismissed as mere emotional neediness, but Deming argues that this perspective is a misunderstanding. He examines this unwelcome feeling in his life and art, as well as in the work of six influential figures. From Melanie Klein's psychoanalytic contributions and Zora Neale Hurston's seminal literature to Walter Benjamin's philosophical writings, Walker Evans' urban photography, Egon Schiele's avant-garde paintings, and the ethical dimensions of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone, Deming uncovers a common thread: loneliness as a catalyst for profound creative expression. He explores the "cosmic loneliness" of Hurston and the detachment experienced by Serling during his fame, revealing loneliness as a complex, multifaceted subject that is both painful and rich with potential for artistic innovation. This exploration highlights how some of the most original art and writing of the twentieth century emerged from the depths of loneliness.