The Third Man

4.00
    The Third Man
    1949

    Synopsis

    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.

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    Cast

    • Joseph CottenHolly Martins
    • Alida ValliAnna Schmidt
    • Trevor HowardMajor Calloway
    • Orson WellesHarry Lime
    • Paul HörbigerKarl the Porter
    • Ernst Deutsch'Baron' Kurtz
    • Erich PontoDr. Winkel
    • Siegfried BreuerPopescu
    • Hedwig BleibtreuAnna's Landlady
    • Bernard LeeSergeant Paine

    Recommendations

    • 100

      Chicago Sun-Times

      Of all the movies I have seen, this one most completely embodies the romance of going to the movies.
    • 100

      The Telegraph

      Throughout the film the sense of Vienna as a frazzled echo of its glorious past is underpinned by Reed's greatest trouvaille – the discovery of Anton Karas's zither melodies, used as the only musical accompaniment. Half-jaunty, half-melancholic, they epitomise, like the film itself, a world gone sadly to seed.
    • 100

      Empire

      This will haunt you. The style, the plot, the character and of course ...that tune...
    • 100

      The Guardian

      A noir classic.
    • 100

      Chicago Tribune

      A triumph of disparate tones, colors and intentions. Like many, I have loved this thriller of conscience and betrayal most of my moviegoing life...Its brand of romantic fatalism is particularly seductive to teenage males, I think, and those who never fully recover from that moviegoing state of being.
    • 100

      The New York Times

      Mr. Reed has brilliantly packaged the whole bad of his cinematic tricks, his whole range of inventive genius for making the camera expound. His eminent gifts for compressing a wealth of suggestion in single shots, for building up agonized tension and popping surprises are fully exercised. His devilishly mischievous humor also runs lightly through the film, touching the darker depressions with little glints of the gay or macabre. [3 Feb 1950, p.29]
    • 100

      Portland Oregonian

      It's an exciting experience, dazzling and entertaining and thought-provoking. I saw it at Cinema 21 last week and immediately wanted to see it again. I couldn't, so I started researching and read everything I could about it. It's truly great.
    • 100

      Variety

      Supporting characters turn in excellent portrayals. Camera work on an exceptionally high plane, and in his painstaking direction Carol Reed lives up to his high reputation.

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