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The Third Man
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The Third Man (1949) More at IMDbPro »

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The Third Man (1949) -- Arriving in Vienna, Holly Martins learns that his friend Harry Lime, who has invited him, recently died in a car accident.
The Third Man (1949) -- ZuGuide.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?

Down 22% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Director:

Carol Reed

Writers:

Graham Greene (story)
Graham Greene (screenplay)
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Contact:

View company contact information for The Third Man on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

3 September 1949 (UK) more

Tagline:

Carol Reed's Classic Thriller more

Plot:

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

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations more

User Comments:

Joseph Cotten is Excellent in Revolutionary Film Noir more (307 total)


Cast

  (Complete credited 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
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Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:

The 3rd Man (USA) (poster title)
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Runtime:

104 min | USA:93 min

Country:

UK

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1 more

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)


Fun Stuff

Trivia:

In one shot in the Wienkanal, a security officer passes by a wall with the engraving "O5," which was the secret symbol of the Austrian resistance against Nazi occupation. ("O5" represents "OE" or "Ö," the first letter of "Österreich," the native name for Austria.) more

Goofs:

Continuity: After the funeral for Harry in the Zentralfriedhof Anna goes into the straight alley. We see her shadow on the right side on the screen more

Quotes:

Harry Lime: Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock. So long Holly. more

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Batoru rowaiaru (2000) more

Soundtrack:

The Third Man Theme more


FAQ

A Note Regarding Spoilers
Is "The Third Man" based on a novel?
Who was the third man?
more
77 out of 97 people found the following comment useful.
Joseph Cotten is Excellent in Revolutionary Film Noir, 21 May 2002
10/10
Author: peanutthegreat from New York

"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.

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Message Boards

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Why does Harry??? ***spoilers*** phirdilse
Remake of Third Man on the way jetlag31
Mystery or Love story? xoddie
Joseph Cotton... theusualsuspect957
Holly Martins Too Involved? aikenrc89
Disappointing deadman1206
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