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Joseph Cotten, Orson Welles, Alida Valli

Set in bombed-out, post-war Vienna, Holly Martins, a writer of pulp Westerns arrives as a penniless guest of his childhood chum Harry Lime, only to find him dead. Martins develops the ultimate conspir...( read more  read more... )acy theory after learning of a 'third man' present at the time of Harry's death, running into interference from investigating British officer Major Calloway and falling head-over-heels for Harry's grief-stricken lover, Anna.

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Unrated, 1 hr. 44 min.

Directed by: Carol Reed

Release Date: September 3, 1949

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DVD Release Date: November 30, 1999

Stats: 2,923 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (2,923)

  • garyX
    September 9, 2009
    garyX
    A down on his luck pulp novelist arrives in post war Vienna on the promise of a job from an old friend, only to find he has been killed in a car accident. Convinced of a conspiracy, he investigates. Graham Greene's adaptation of his own novel has a hell of a lot to commend it; an...( read more) intriguing mystery set in beautiful locations, with some gorgeous cinematography and full of wonderfully framed shots by director Carol Reed. Cotten makes an interesting departure from the usual Noir protagonist, both a fish out of water AND out of his depth. Trevor Howard is also great as the officious British investigator and Alida Valli is a beautiful, vulnerable yet complex love interest. It has only one flaw for me, but it's a near fatal one. The soundtrack is so intrusive and inappropriate it almost wrecks the film completely. It is far too loud, totally antagonistic towards the atmosphere the director and cinematographer had worked so hard to achieve and virtually constant. It's like trying to watch The Maltese Falcon sat next to the band in a Greek restaurant and it seriously grated on my nerves. It's a real shame because pretty much everything else about this film is excellent.
  • her69eyes
    March 24, 2009
    her69eyes
    "The Third Man" is often considered to be the best of the film noir genre, and essential viewing for anybody that likes that style of filmmaking. I disagree. I've never been a fan of film noir, but I was floored after my first viewing of "The Third Man". This is a movie unlike an...( read more)ything you've ever seen - with a perfect combination of a great cast, a breathtaking city, an innovative and unusual soundtrack, and some of the most remarkable cinematography ever envisioned on full display. For people who have reservations about seeing another film with the cliched femme fatales and convoluted mysteries, shot in shadows and clouds of smoke, I can assure you that you will not get what you expect. Whether or not you completely embrace the film as much as some others, you'll have no troubles in admitting that it is, in fact, a perfectly designed movie.

    Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) has just arrived in Vienna at the request of an old friend, Harry Lime (Orson Welles). Martins is a pulp-novelist who sees the world in only black and white - a naivety that is certainly challenged throughout the film. When he arrives in Vienna, he learns that Lime is dead. At Lime's funeral, he meets Major Calloway (Trevor Howard), a police officer, who tells Martins to give up and go home. But Martins is invested in the mysteries of the supposed "accident" of Lime's death, and he's also entranced by Lime's beautiful love interest, Anna Schmidt (Alida Valli). Through a series of interrogations with people involved with Lime, Martins deciphers that Lime was struck by a car and then carried away by three men. Two of them are accounted for, and Lime is focused on figuring out who the third was.

    It turns out, afterall, that Lime is alive and well. He's only gone into hiding, getting around the city using the sewers and lurking in the shadows. This isn't the same Lime that Martins thought he knew, however. Martins has substantial evidence that Lime has been in the business of watering down penicillin and selling it to deathly-ill patients. Lime's body count, mostly children, is significant. When Martins confronts him about it, Lime gives a famous speech - "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."

    The cinematography in the sewer chase, the unusual but perfectly fitting soundtrack, the larger-than-life performance by Welles, the city of Vienna... "The Third Man" is a film that transports you into it's world in a way most films can never dream of. It's a perfect movie that deserves it's universal praise. Check out the Criterion Collection release on DVD or blu-ray.
  • rubystevens
    March 11, 2009
    rubystevens
    make sure to get the british version!
  • sanjurosamurai
    February 7, 2009
    sanjurosamurai
    a flawlessly conceived, expertly crafted film that ranks as possibly the greatest film noir that i have ever seen. the cinematography is especially notable, and every member of the cast was perfectly chosen. the script is also one of the greatest in film history, and every scen...( read more)e was shot purposefully and effectively. the entire chase sequence at the end of the film is marvelous. easily one of the greatest films ever made.
  • ohagankieran
    January 30, 2009
    ohagankieran
    Carol Reed's cult 40's thriller continues to unnerve audiences over 50 years later. It is a masterclass in atmosphere and style but also manages to haunt on many levels.



    Down-on-his-luck pulp writer Holly Martins (Cotten) arrives broke in Allied-occupied Vienna at...( read more) the invitation of his dear old pal Harry Lime (Welles), only to find Harry has been killed in an accident. When brisk British policeman Major Calloway (Howard) informs him that Harry was a notorious racketeer, the indignant Holly decides to clear his friend's name. As soon as he starts questioning Harry's weasly associates and hopeless refugee lover Anna (Valli), he's struck by some baffling inconsistencies in their stories. So he undertakes a quest through the seedy post-war city seeking the unknown "third man" at the scene of Harry's accident.




    Holly is a character of naive persistence, unprepared for Greene's bleak trail of false identities, foul deeds and poisoned penicillin, so you fear with him as he's chasing and being chased through cobbled streets, bomb rubble and, most stunningly, the city's cavernous sewers. Welles appears just three times (and speaks only in the classic fairground scene) but his presence dominates - Reed acknowledged the charismatic Welles influenced the film's saturnine tone.



    For his part, Reed's talent for catching detail and character subtleties found its richest expression, abetted by Robert Krasker's brilliant photography, and immortalised in the appearance of Harry in a doorway, fleetingly caught in the light from an upstairs window
  • ythelastman89
    November 18, 2009
    ythelastman89
    The story and look of it was amazing. The disorienting angles and marionette-like music were great touches. My main complaint, only complaint really, was that Joseph Cotton played the most uninteresting lead imaginable. He came off as a moron and not even a likable moron. Alida V...( read more)alli definitely made up for this, but it still made the movie somewhat hard to enjoy. Orson Wells was good too, but it seemed like he was almost used just in a matter-of-fact way. Nonetheless, it's a great movie.
  • Phonex
    November 9, 2009
    Phonex
    subject is moving to Vienna rather than Berlin, but good film about cold war term.
  • alexroy69
    October 29, 2009
    alexroy69
    J'avais, à mon premier visionnement, rédigé une critique plutôt négative de ce film que tous s'entendent à encenser. Le personnage d'Harry Lime ne me paraissait pas digne de tant de mystère. Je trouvais également que l'intrigue traînait péniblement et que le motif musical de guit...( read more)are acoustique répété tout au long du film détruisait complètement l'ambiance. Qui plus est, je ne disposais pas de sous-titres et l'accent allemand et britannique de certains acteurs rendait parfois les dialogues difficiles à déchiffrer.

    Un nouveau visionnement était donc primordial. J'ignore si mes goûts ont changé, si j'étais dans un mood plus réceptif ou si je viens tout simplement de "saisir" le film, mais cette fois-ci j'ai beaucoup apprécié. Je dois concéder à Carol Reed un indéniable flair de réalisation. Plusieurs scènes sont extrêmement bien tournées, le plan le plus marquant étant selon moi celui des doigts de Lime qui se tordent de désespoir au travers de la bouche d'égout.

    "The Third Man" est tout en contrastes entre l'ombre et la lumière. Entre ce qui est montré et ce qui est caché. Entre ce qui est dit et ce qui est tu. L'énigmatique Harry Lime devient vite une excuse pour le protagoniste de ne pas retourner chez lui, de s'éterniser auprès d'une jeune femme en deuil de qui il s'éprendra. Le spectre du défunt Lime s'étend sur toute cette ville de ruines, elle-même remplie d'ombres pesantes qui semblent menacer d'engloutir les personnages. On aime!
  • xtiandurden
    October 27, 2009
    xtiandurden
    One of the greatest if not the best film-noir in film history. Joseph Cotten perfectly portrayed an American novelist who led himself investigating the strange death of an old friend and Orson Welles (although he only appeared less than half an hour in the film) is still brillian...( read more)t. His first quick shot is really stunningly surprising, and one of the unforgettable part of the film. In that revelation, he didn't say anything, that's the magic of it. You can only see gestures in his face, and it's a terrific acting, without a single word. The unforgettable zither score of Anton Karas did not win an Oscar nor even a nomination, but Robert Krasker's skill in photography did. Krasker's light and shadow technique is a masterpiece, you can feel the wetness of the ground, and it is perfect in a black-and-white motion picture.
  • ElCochran90
    October 23, 2009
    ElCochran90
    "You were born to be murdered."

    THE THIRD MAN (1949)


    Director: Carol Reed
    Country: United Kingdom
    Genre: Film-Noir / Mystery / Thriller
    Length: 104 minutes

    ...( read more)w125/ElCochran90/Decorated%20images/?action=view¤t=Third_Man1.png" target="_blank">Photobucket

    To create a successful film-noir is a challenging task, but to duel into the vast deepness of such genre and to create one of the most intriguing and suspenseful plots in the process is a remarkable achievement. Modest director Carol Reed (The Fallen Idol [1948], Oliver! [1968]) brings to the screen a wonderful adaptation of the original crime novel that would be released until 1950 written by Graham Greene, who also wrote the spectacular screenplay, and makes the screen shake with nonstop suspense and extraordinary revelations, referencing giant films in the process such as Fritz Lang's M (1931), Orson Welles' Citizen Kane (1941) and Michael Curtiz's Casablanca (1942). Consequently, it is the director's towering achievement. Despite its great Hitchcockian influence present throughout the development's plot, it is a benchmark in thrilling storytelling, applying a wonderful and adequate pace that prevents the film from occasionally dragging. It easily belongs to a top list of the best mystery films ever made, and thanks to the exceptional cast and one of the most famous and exciting film sequences ever shot, The Third Man has become an influential icon of classic quality cinema and a reminder of the positive effect that a great cinematography may have on the overall premise, not to mention it is a unique British masterpiece.

    The Third Man opens with the racketeer trade in the post-World War II era and the resulting predominant black market in the streets of Vienna, Austria, while the city has been quartered into sectors policed by American, English, French and Russian occupying forces. This is the economically devastated and bombed-out scenario where the American pulp writer Holly Martins arrives at the request of a long time-friend, Harry Lime. However, he soon finds out that Harry Lime has recently died in a car accident under mysterious circumstances, so he decides to start investigating his possible murder through the versions of Lime's associates and some visual witnesses, versions that do not coincide with each other. The version of the flat's porter states that two known friends of Lime carried his body with the help of a "third man", a man whose face the porter could not identify. The film received 3 Academy Award nominations for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White, Best Film Editing and Best Director, winning only the first Oscar and losing the last one against Joseph L. Mankiewicz's All About Eve (1950). It also won the Grand Prize of the Festival at the Cannes Film Festival.

    The most mentioned and discussed quality of The Third Man has been its decently developed cinematography. Although it is not as glorious and masterful as the definition of cinematography provided by classic Japanese films, it helps the streets of Vienna to shine in their most suspenseful way, like if the filming locations became alive and slowly started revealing multiple secrets that the darkest corners hide from the characters. A most genius editing is present all the way through, highlighting the suspense the movie implicitly has and strengthening the mysteriousness of the incongruence that the versions of the characters regarding the death of Lime have. The movie possesses a highly literary connotation, awarding a patient audience with the ability of decomposing the emotions and deepest possible thoughts of each character without the necessity of resorting to a deep and macabre voiceover. The masterful direction the film was subject to and the expectedly unexpected appearance of Harry Lime on screen, character played by Orson Welles, is a breathtaking moment not just because of how the film is divided into two separate and very distinct chapters, but because of the technical aspects that owe credit to a hypnotizing and balanced use of light and darkness and an extreme close-up that has no mercy towards the viewer. It is unexpected in the sense that the story and pace are handled with thrill and emotion. It is expected in the sense that Orson Welles is credited in the cast as Harry Lime, an aspect that motivates the audience to psychologically create a falsely effective sensation of surprise despite that it was meant to happen.

    Slightly borrowing the narrative structure and written talent of Citizen Kane (1941), The Third Man contains every single essential element a good old film-noir requires: a grand twist, amazing visuals, a cold-blooded antagonist that disguises his personality with an empathetic charm and a great style of behaving, a Czech femme fatale and a watchable protagonist whose constant search for the truth is clouded with the maliciousness of the surrounding people. The introduction of the post-WWII era may be the excuse for justifying the dubious intentions of each and every one of Lime's acquaintances... and what a genius excuse it is! Carol Reed orchestrates a wonderful farce and the strong vibe that Welles transmits with his mere presence is indescribable. The musical score is effective enough to guarantee a mischievous cinematic ride, culminating in one of the most memorable sequences in cinema history: an endless chase through the nowadays revered sewer passages. The stupendous performances by Joseph Cotton, Anna Schmidt as Alida Valli, and Orson Welles magnify the influential proportions that the movie applied to its genres with no difficulty.

    The Third Man is the breathtaking result of the work of several talented artists, from the delicate direction of Carol Reed, a director that was not very famous in the US, to Robert Krasker's multiphacetic photography. One risen hand questioning the particularly American perspective applied by Reed, not to mention the instant archetype that the film immediately meant for American cinema, is totally allowed. Nevertheless, its approach to a devastated Europe was not a subject particularly supported by the US, usually rejecting any filmic project with either partial or total neorealist depictions. Ruins and rubble are literally shown during the opening sequence, and it is the atmospheric catastrophe Europe has been recently subject to the one that offers a feeling of lack of control and goodness concerning the particular plot of the film. Charade has often been called as "the best Hitchcock film Hitchcock never did". On a personal note, I would switch that movie description to The Third Man any day, especially because of the amazing early talent that UK Hitchcock films had in the 30's. The Third Man is a non-pulp fiction crime gem which story gets better with each viewing. The analysis of the context and story of it may not have a significant background mainly because of Carol Reed's mostly unknown filmography, but the power he first applied to The Fallen Idol (1948) has been maximized and taken to a definition of cool that few films of the 40's contained.

    100/100

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Critic Reviews

January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Of all the movies I have seen, this one most completely embodies the romance of going to the movies. full review

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The Third Man Trivia

  • In "The Third Man" (1949) how is Harry Lime's (Orson Welles) face first seen??  Answer »
  • What is the movie that Nicolas Cage and Elizabeth Shue are watching when they lie by the pool at the Desert Hotel in 'Leaving Las Vegas'?   Answer »
  • "In Switzerland they've had 500 years of peace and what did they come up with? The cookoo clock". Is a quote from which film?   Answer »
  • On the 'BFI Top 100 British films' list, which of these films was number 1?   Answer »
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