The Third Man (1949)

Hunted by men ... Sought by WOMEN!

In postwar Vienna, Austria, Holly Martins, a writer of pulp Westerns, arrives penniless as a guest of his childhood chum Harry Lime, only to learn he has died. Martins develops a conspiracy theory after learning of a "third man" present at the time of Harry's death, running into interference from British officer Major Calloway, and falling head-over-heels for Harry's grief-stricken lover, Anna.

Directed by: Carol Reed

Written by: Graham Greene

Music by: Anton Karas

Starring: Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Trevor Howard, Orson Welles, Paul Hörbiger, Ernst Deutsch, Erich Ponto, Siegfried Breuer, Hedwig Bleibtreu, Bernard Lee

Genre: Thriller, Mystery

Released: 1949-08-31

Runtime: 105 minutes

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The Third Man (1949): trivia & fun facts

Fun facts

• Six weeks of principal photography were shot on location in Vienna, ending on 11 December 1948.
• According to scriptwriter Graham Greene, "the popular line of dialogue concerning Swiss cuckoo clocks was written into the script by Mr Welles himself" (in the published script, it is in a footnote).
• As the original British release begins, the voice of director Carol Reed (uncredited) describes post-war Vienna from a racketeer's point of view.
• In 2005, viewers of BBC Television's Newsnight Review voted the film their fourth favourite of all time, the only film in the top five made before 1970.
• In 1982 it was 14th, 42nd in 1992, 32nd in 2002, 73rd in 2012 and 63rd in the latest poll in 2022.
• Jonathan Rosenbaum's 2007 book Discovering Orson Welles calls this a "popular misconception", although Rosenbaum did note that the film "began to echo the Wellesian theme of betrayed male friendship and certain related ideas from Citizen Kane."
• Composer Anton Karas' title composition "The Third Man Theme" aka "Harry Lime Theme", topped the international music charts in 1950, bringing international fame to the previously unknown performer.
• The exposure made Anton Karas an international star; the trailer for the film stated that "the famous musical score by Anton Karas" would have the audience "in a dither with his zither".
• In 2006, Writers Guild of America West ranked its screenplay 33rd in WGA's list of 101 Greatest Screenplays.
• The Grand Gala World Premiere of the film was held at the Ritz Cinema in Hastings on 1 September 1949.
• Reed's friend William Wyler sent him a spirit level with a note stating: "Carol, next time you make a picture, just put it on top of the camera, will you?"
• The use of black-and-white German expressionist-influenced cinematography by Robert Krasker, with its harsh lighting and Dutch angles, is a major feature of The Third Man.

Source: Wikipedia

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