The Third Man – British Classic Film with Orson Welles

Aug 7, 2011
Sally Anne Lewis

Orson Welles as Harry Lime - The Third Man

Whether viewed as film noir at its best, morality play, historical depiction or evocative thriller, The Third Man is a movie to watch again and again.

The play of shadows and light goes beyond the actual camera work in this film of loyalty and racketeering in post war Vienna. The Third Man starts with an introduction that could be the lead to a comic love story, an illusion that is quickly shattered when the hero finds himself at a graveside, receiving meaningful looks from several of the mourners.

Most of the characters speak German, which isn’t translated unless necessary. This adds to the drama/ comedy switch that is present throughout the film, with tension building only to be dissipated by something unexpected, or a seemingly innocent moment suddenly turned suspenseful. A child making accusations of murder, a taxi driver racing to an unknown destination, a balloon seller insisting on selling his wares to a detective on a stake out, all are carefully planned, casual encounters.

Aftermath of war in Europe

The settings offer a glimpse of old Vienna, of the opulence and art, the cultural wealth of a city once home to emperors, artists and poets, a city that escaped most of the destruction of the First World War and was devastated by the Second. Scenes of the city, mostly shot at night, show the contrast between ruins and rubble and the fine buildings still standing.

The city is policed by each of the four powers that defeated Nazi Germany as the French, English, Russian and Americans try to work together. As the introduction states, “What a hope they had, all strangers to the place, and none of them could speak the same language.” This comes into play when the characters have to deal with various police officials.

Characters

The hero, Holly Martins, is played by Joseph Cotten, the love interest by Alida Valli. Three prominent English actors are also featured. Trevor Howard, who was also in Superman (1978) and Gandhi (1982), plays the astute Major Calloway. Bernard Lee plays Sergeant Paine, but is probably better known for his role as M in eleven James Bond movies. Wilfred Hyde White, internationally famous as Colonel Pickering in My Fair Lady, plays a minor, yet important character in The Third Man.

Orson Welles, the big star in the movie, doesn’t even appear until an hour into the film. The light shines on his face for a few minutes, he gives an impish half smile, and disappears again. His next appearance is to defend his actions in a menacing scene on a fairground big wheel. Here Welles utters the lines that were inserted after the script was written, by Welles himself, according to Roger Ebert:

"You know what the fellow said: 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 Music

Anton Karas was playing his zither in a Viennese bar when producer Carol Reed heard him and decided he found the answer to his quandary of theme music. The theme was released in 1950 to instant success on both sides of the Atlantic and launched Karas’ career in recorded music. The opening credits are flashed over film of the zither strings.