The Third Man (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 #177 | 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:

funeral | betrayal | faking one's death | rubble film | american abroad | 

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Taglines:

HUNTED...By a thousand men! Haunted...By a lovely girl!

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Genres:

Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Paul Hörbiger couldn't speak a word of English and had to learn his lines phonetically.

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Goofs

Martins incorrectly calls Dr. Winkel "Winkel" instead of the correct "Vinkel", even though he has only heard the name (pronounced "Vinkel") and not seen it written at all.

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Quotes

Porter: He is now
[points up]
Porter: in hell, or
[points down]
Porter: in heaven.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: V I E N N A

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Alternate Versions

The UK version features introductory voice-over by the director Carol Reed; in the US version Joseph Cotten provides the voice-over, as his character Holly Martins. The UK version runs 104 minutes, versus the US version at 93 minutes, which was cut by producer David O. Selznick to give the film a tighter pace. Both versions have been released on video in the U.S., but as of today the most common is the longer British cut. A video comparison between the narrations appears on the U.S. Criterion Collection DVD.

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Connections

Referenced in Me and Orson Welles (2008)

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Soundtracks

The Third Man Theme
(1949) (uncredited)
Written by Anton Karas
Performed by Anton Karas on a zither

User Reviews

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.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English German Russian

Release Date:

12 October 1949 (France)

Also Known As:

The 3rd Man

Filming Locations:

Austria

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,576, 9 May 1999

Gross USA:

$1,067,364

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,225,424

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