Le troisième homme (1949)

Pulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend, Harry Lime.

Director:

Carol Reed

Writers:

Graham Greene (by), Graham Greene (screen play)

Stars:

Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli

Top Rated Movies #124 | Won 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Joseph Cotten	...	Holly Martins
Alida Valli	...	Anna Schmidt (as Valli)
Orson Welles	...	Harry Lime
Trevor Howard	...	Maj. Calloway
Bernard Lee	...	Sgt. 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

Storyline

An out of work pulp fiction novelist, Holly Martins, arrives in a post war Vienna divided into sectors by the victorious allies, and where a shortage of supplies has led to a flourishing black market. He arrives at the invitation of an ex-school friend, Harry Lime, who has offered him a job, only to discover that Lime has recently died in a peculiar traffic accident. From talking to Lime's friends and associates Martins soon notices that some of the stories are inconsistent, and determines to discover what really happened to Harry Lime.

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Plot Keywords:

black market | dark secret | funeral | penicillin | military police | 

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Taglines:

Hunted by men...Sought by WOMEN!

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Genres:

Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Tous publics

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English German Russian

Release Date:

12 October 1949 (France)

Also Known As:

Le troisième homme

Filming Locations:

Austria

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$13,576 (USA) (7 May 1999)

Gross:

$449,191 (USA) (20 November 2015)

Company Credits

Production Co:

London Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Harry Lime's character name may be derived from Graham Greene's own name. Henry=Harry Graham Greene (Green)= Lime. Others say he chose the surname because it "reminded him of the quicklime where murderers were buried."

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Goofs

When Calloway and the police stand waiting for Harry to arrive at the station, an elderly balloon man tries to sell them a balloon. His balloons have designs printed on them. Calloway has his sergeant buy one to get rid of the old man, but the balloon has no printing on it, as the shot of the police was filmed later in London.

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Quotes

Calloway: We should have dug deeper than a grave.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: V I E N N A

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Connections

Featured in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes & Villains (2003)

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Soundtracks

Managua, Nicaragua
(1946) (uncredited)
Music by Irving Fields
Lyrics by Albert Gamse

User Reviews

the best of all time

Unrelenting fascination is what I have every time I watch this movie. It never seems old. It's in my mind, haunting me, with its unearthly music and its dark, oblique photography. And that great Orson Welles' speech, and also the best entrance in movie history to go along with the best exit in movie history. It couldn't be better. I can't even express how I feel in words. Watch it again and again, and you'll be dazed!