The Third Man (1949)

Director:

Carol Reed

Writers:

Graham Greene (story)
Graham Greene (screenplay)

Release Date:

3 September 1949 (UK)

Genre:

Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Carol Reed's Classic Thriller

Plot:

Arriving in Vienna, Holly Martins learns that his friend Harry Lime, who has invited him, recently died in a car accident.

Plot Keywords:

Black Market | Car Accident | Police | Post WWII | Dark Secret

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Joseph Cotten	...	Holly Martins
Alida Valli	...	Anna Schmidt (as Valli)
Orson Welles	...	Harry Lime
Trevor Howard	...	Major Calloway
Bernard Lee	...	Sergeant Paine
Paul Hörbiger	...	Karl - Harry's Porter (as Paul Hoerbiger)
Ernst Deutsch	...	'Baron' Kurtz
Siegfried Breuer	...	Popescu
Erich Ponto	...	Dr. Winkel
Wilfrid Hyde-White	...	Crabbin
Hedwig Bleibtreu	...	Anna's Old Landlady

Also Known As:

The 3rd Man (USA) (poster title)

Runtime:

104 min | USA:93 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | German | Russian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Netherlands:6 (DVD rating) | South Korea:15 (2003) | Brazil:14 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:11 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #14125) | West Germany:12 | New Zealand:G

Filming Locations:

8 Schreyvogelgasse, Vienna, Austria

Company:

London Film Productions

Trivia:

This was meant to be the first of a series of collaborations between mega-producers David O. Selznick and Alexander Korda. However, as the production grew difficult, they decided to take it one film at a time. Ironically, due to the success of the film, since both producers were at each other's throats for the credit for the film, they never collaborated again.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the sewer before putting fingers through grate, Harry Lime holds the stair's supporting pole with his right hand, but the gun should be in his hand, as displayed before and after this shot.

Quotes:

Martins: I guess nobody really knew Harry like he did... like I did.
Calloway: How long ago ?
Martins: Back in school. I was never so lonesome in my life until he showed up.
Calloway: When did you see him last ?
Martins: September, '39.
Calloway: When the business started ?
Martins: Um, hmm.
Calloway: See much of him before that ?
Martins: Once in a while. Best friend I ever had.
Calloway: That sounds like a cheap novelette.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in ¿Qué he hecho yo para merecer esto!! (1984)

Soundtrack:

The Third Man Theme

Joseph Cotten is Excellent in Revolutionary Film Noir

"I never knew the Old Vienna, before the war, with its Strauss Music," opens Carol Reed's The Third Man, and we catch a glimpse of the New Vienna, with its Black Market and its Shady Deals. Joseph Cotten plays cheap novelette author Holly Martins, just arrived in Vienna to meet with long-time friend Harry Lime, who offered him a job. He instead meets with the mysterious facts surrounding the death of Lime, learned bit-by-bit from Lime's friends, a woman named Anna Schmidt, who has problems of her own (played excellently by Valli), and two British officers, Calloway and Paine. Learning, that there is more to death of Lime than there seems to be, Martins begins his investigation for the truth. This film was shot with some of the greatest, most ahead-of-its-time cinematography ever, and it creates mystery and deceit. It is complimented by the excellent use of shadows. The soundtrack is essentially one long song, which plays throughout the film, changing and stopping as the emotion calls for. It is a zither composition by Anton Karas made for the film. This is all topped off by an engrossing storyline, and a great performance by Joseph Cotten, as the ordinary man mixed up in this web of mystery.