The Third Man (1949)

User Rating:

8.5/10   

Director:

Carol Reed

Writers:

Graham Greene (story)
Graham Greene (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

3 September 1949 (UK)

Genre:

Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Carol Reed's Classic Thriller

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Vienna | Black Market | Post WWII | Car Accident | Police

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nelly Arno	...	Kurtz's mother (uncredited)
Jack Arrow	...	International Patrol A (uncredited)
Harold Ayer	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Harry Belcher	...	Man chasing Holly (uncredited)
Leo Bieber	...	Barman (Casanova) (uncredited)
Paul Birch	...	Military Policeman (uncredited)
Martin Boddey	...	Russian Military Policeman (uncredited)
Madge Brindley	...	Guest at Casanova Bar (uncredited)
Ray Browne	...	International Patrol B (uncredited)
Robert Brown	...	British Military Policeman in Sewer Chase (uncredited)
Paul Carpenter	...	International Patrol D (uncredited)
Alexis Chesnakov	...	Colonel Brodsky - Russian liaison officer (uncredited)
Guy De Monceau	...	International Patrol C (uncredited)
Reed De Rouen	...	American Military Policeman at Railroad Station (uncredited)
Jack Faint	...	Guest at Casanova Bar (uncredited)
Peter Fontaine	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Thomas Gallagher	...	Taxi driver (uncredited)
Michael Godfrey	...	International Patrol C (uncredited)
Vernon Greeves	...	International Patrol D (uncredited)
Herbert Halbik	...	Little Hansl (boy with ball) (uncredited)
Paul Hardtmuth	...	Hartman - Hall Porter at Hotel Sacher (uncredited)
Walter Hertner	...	Barman at Sacher's (uncredited)
Charles Irwin	...	Colonel O'Sullivan (uncredited)
Lily Kann	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Geoffrey Keen	...	British Military Policeman (uncredited)
Brookes Kyle	...	International Patrol B (uncredited)
Martin Miller	...	Headwaiter (uncredited)
Hannah Norbert	...	Actress at Josefstadt Theater (uncredited)
Eric Pohlmann	...	Waiter at Smolka's (uncredited)
Carol Reed	...	Opening narrator (UK version) (voice) (uncredited)
Annie Rosar	...	Porter's wife (uncredited)
Frederick Schreicker	...	Hansel's father (uncredited)
Hugo Schuster	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Karel Stepanek	...	Actor at Josefstadt Theater (uncredited)
Lee Strasberg	...	MP (uncredited)
Gordon Tanner	...	International Patrol C (uncredited)
Ernst Ulman	...	Visitor at Literature Club (uncredited)
Helga Wahlrow	...	Josefstadt Theatre Actress (uncredited)
Jenny Werner	...	Hilde - Winkel's maid (uncredited)

Directed by
Carol Reed

Writing credits
Graham Greene		(story) and
Alexander Korda		(story) uncredited
Graham Greene		(screenplay)
Carol Reed		uncredited and
Orson Welles		uncredited

Produced by
Hugh Perceval	....	associate producer
Carol Reed	....	producer
Alexander Korda	....	producer (uncredited)
David O. Selznick	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Anton Karas

Cinematography by
Robert Krasker		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Oswald Hafenrichter

Set Decoration by
Dario Simoni		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
George Frost	....	makeup artist
Joe Shear	....	hairdresser (as J. Shear)
Peter Evans	....	assistant makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
T.S. Lyndon-Haynes	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Guy Hamilton	....	assistant director
Jack Causey	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Jack N. Green	....	third assistant director (uncredited)
George Pollock	....	second unit director (uncredited)
Gino Wimmer	....	assistant director: Austria (uncredited)

Art Department
Joseph Bato	....	set designer
Ferdinand Bellan	....	assistant art director
John Hawkesworth	....	set designer
Vincent Korda	....	set designer
James Sawyer	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
John Cox	....	sound supervisor
Jack Drake	....	sound editor
Red Law	....	sound recordist
Bert Ross	....	sound recordist
Jack Davies	....	boom operator (uncredited)
John Glen	....	assistant sound editor (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
W. Percy Day	....	matte painter (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Denys N. Coop	....	camera operator (as Denys Coop)
Stanley Pavey	....	additional photographer (as Stan Pavey)
Edward Scaife	....	camera operator (as E. Scaife)
John Wilcox	....	additional photographer
Monty Berman	....	camera operator: "b" camera (uncredited)
J. Bicknell	....	camera loader (uncredited)
Alan McCabe	....	clapper loader (uncredited)
Geoff Meldrum	....	focus puller (uncredited)
John von Kotze	....	focus puller: second unit (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ivy Baker	....	wardrober
Gene Hornsby	....	assistant wardrobe: women (uncredited)
George Murrey	....	wardrobe master (uncredited)
Dickie Richardson	....	assistant wardrobe: men (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Peter Taylor	....	assembly cutter
Derek Armstrong	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
Ken Behrens	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
David Eady	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Irving Fields	....	composer: song "Managua, Nicaragua"
Albert Gamse	....	composer: song "Managua, Nicaragua"
Anton Karas	....	musician: zither
Fritz Löhner-Beda	....	lyrics
Henry Love	....	composer: song "Das Alte Lied"

Other crew
Alexander Korda	....	presenter
Peggy McClafferty	....	continuity
Elizabeth Montagu	....	advisor: Austria
David O. Selznick	....	presenter
Angela Allen	....	script supervisor: second unit (uncredited)
Teresa Deans	....	production secretary (uncredited)
Robert Dunbar	....	production assistant: second unit (uncredited)
Enid Jones	....	unit publicist (uncredited)

Production Companies

• London Film Productions (as London Film Production) (for)
• British Lion Film Corporation

Distributors

• British Lion Film Corporation (1949) (UK) (theatrical)
• Selznick Releasing Organization (1950) (USA) (theatrical)
• Sascha-Verleih (1950) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1956) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Action Gitanes (????) (France) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Asociace Ceských Filmových Klubu (ACFK) (2007) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Asociácia slovenských filmových klubov (ASFK) (2007) (Slovakia) (theatrical)
• BIM Distribuzione (2005) (Italy) (DVD)
• Canal+ (????) (France) (TV)
• Contender Entertainment Group (2005) (UK) (DVD) (re-release)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2008) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Electric Pictures Ltd. (1994) (UK) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Home Vision Entertainment (HVE) (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Jef Films International (2005) (USA) (VHS)
• Lion International Films
• Optimum Home Entertainment (2006) (UK) (DVD) (anniversary edition)
• Optimum Releasing (1999) (UK) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Rialto Pictures (1999) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Spiegel Media GmbH
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• VCI Home Video (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Vintage Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (UK) (DVD) (special edition)
• Warner Home Video (????) (UK) (VHS)

Also Known As:

The 3rd Man (USA) (poster title)
El tercer hombre (Argentina) (Mexico) (Spain) [es]
Der dritte Mann (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Le troisième homme (Belgium: French title) (France) [fr]
A harmadik ember (Hungary) [hu]
De derde man (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
Den tredie mand (Denmark) [da]
Den tredje mannen (Sweden) [sv]
El tercer home (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Il terzo uomo (Italy) [it]
Kolmas mies (Finland) [fi]
O 3º Homem (Brazil) [pt]
O Terceiro Homem (Portugal) [pt]
Treci covek (Serbia) [sr]
Trzeci czlowiek (Poland) [pl]

Runtime:

104 min | USA:93 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | German | Russian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Netherlands:6 (DVD rating) | South Korea:15 (2003) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:11 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #14125) | West Germany:12 | New Zealand:G

Filming Locations:

Isleworth, Middlesex, England, UK

Company:

London Film Productions

Trivia:

During meetings between Graham Greene and Carol Reed with David O. Selznick, Greene was less than impressed with Selznick, who had (according to Selznick's own son) "become something of a parody of himself". Greene later mocked Selznick's dependency at the stage on the drug Dexedrine, better known as "speed". Coincidentally, Reed also became hooked on Dexedrine while shooting the time-consuming film. Both Reed and Selznick were operating on as little as 2 hours of sleep a day.

Goofs:

Continuity: The dog and the book briefly change between Kurtz' two hands when he is being shown where Lime was hit by a truck.

Quotes:

Calloway: [to Holly Martins] You were born to be murdered.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Law & Order: Fluency (#15.14)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

The Third Man Theme

A Flawless Classic

This is a rare film that is flawless in every respect. It combines great acting and memorable characters with a fascinating story, taking place in an interesting setting and adding a creative musical score. "The Third Man" is remembered for many things - for Orson Welles' wonderful performance in his appearances as Harry Lime, for its wonderfully appropriate musical score, and for its nicely conceived plot surprises. Adding to these is Joseph Cotten's fine portrayal of Holly Martins, which holds the rest of it together - it is his character who initiates most of the action, and also through whom we view everything and everyone else.

The story starts, after a nicely done prologue, with Martins arriving in Vienna, and finding out that his friend Harry is not only dead but is accused of running a particularly destructive black market racket. Martins sets out at once to prove his friend's innocence, getting into an immediate scuffle with the police, and it seems at first to set up a conventional plot about clearing the name of a friend - but the actual story that follows is much deeper and much better. It is just right that Martins is an innocent who writes cheap novels for a living, and he gets a pretty memorable lesson in fiction vs. reality. There are some great scenes (the Ferris-wheel confrontation being as good a scene as there is in classic cinema) leading up to a memorable climactic sequence, and a good supporting cast, with Alida Valli as Anna being very good in complementing Lime and Martins. The setting in crumbling post-war Vienna and the distinctive zither score go very nicely with the story.

This is a fine, flawless classic, and while obviously belonging to an earlier era, it deserves a look from anyone who appreciates good movies.