WATCH NOW
Is there any other film whose music complements the actions taken on set as much as it does in Carol Reed‘s “The Third Man”? Anton Karas, who performed the score on a zither, was playing at a Viennese beerhouse when Reed was struck by his performance and wanted to incorporate it into his movie. It is the sound of someone buried alive whistling in the dark that sounds merry, yet devoid of it. It sets the pace; the drama begins as the carefree exploit of an undergraduate and then swiftly transitions into something brutal.
The story begins with a clip that reads out loud, “I never knew the old Vienna, before the war ”The broken city after the war is now divided into American, British, French, and Russian zones, each one of them guarded by suspicious officials has its own set of boundaries. An American sappy character stumbles into a world of deception: Holly Martins (Joseph Cotton), an alcoholic author of Zap Westerns. He shows up due to an invite from his friend from college. But when Martins gets to Vienna, Lime is in the process of being buried.
How did Lime die? That question is the engine that drives the plot, as Calloway (Trevor Howard), the British officer in charge, bluntly says Lime is an evil man, and advises Holly to take the next train home. But Harry had a girl Anna (Alida Valli), who Holly saw at Lime’s grave, and perhaps she has some answers. Certainly, Holly has fallen in love with her, although his trusting Yankee heart is no match for her.
Let’s go to the past, before the bombs and the empires went up in smoke, the shattered remnants of a country where mountains of rubble and gigantic bomb craters created a horrific scene. People of these nations suffered greatly, so when one watched Europe in shambles, they knew that it was like witnessing the aftermath of a devastating war. And this is where Carol Reed influenced the documentary ‘The Third Man.‘ He helped the British Army during the war so he had first-hand experience of how palatable life was during that time. The screenplay is complemented by Graham Greene, who had various ties with the story not only did he write it, but he aided spies every once in a while too. This movie had various competing details. For starters, David O. Selznick tried to push for sets, promising an upbeat score, and casting Noel Coward; however, Reid fought him over each and every detail, insisting it was all fictional. He ultimately ended up winning the dispute and was able to shoot in Vienna, where the desperate black market economy thrived as the wrecks of the bomb cities formed. He also demanded Karas Zither’s music, which was blasted all throughout The Third Man and is considered one of the biggest hits of the year 1950.
Reed, together with his Oscar-winning cinematographer Robert Krasker, created a visual style that can only be termed reckless and unforgettable. I suspect that more shots are tilted, or at least suggest a world out of joint, than are held straight. Fantastic oblique angles are present. Faces and locations are distorted by wide-angle lenses. And the bizarre lighting turns the city into an expressionist nightmare. (While stalking Lime, a little balloon man walks across the scene and his shadow is a grotesque monolith three stories tall). Vienna in “The Third Man” is a place, almost any other location in film history, that bears a more keen and unmistakable resemblance to the action fits the city like a glove.
Of course, faces matter, too The open, naive face of Joseph Cotton contrasts with Harry Lime’s “friends” the corrupt “Baron” Kurtz (Ernst Deutsch), the shifty Dr. Winkel (Erich Ponto), and the ratlike Popescu (Siegfried Breuer). Even a little boy with a rubber ball resembles a wizened imp. The only trusting faces belong to innocents like Hall Porter (Paul Hoerbiger) who says to Holly “There was another man a third man” And the beefy Sgt. Paine (Bernard Lee), CaIloway’s aide levels such a drunken Holly with a shot to the chin, then meekly apologizes. Even the resident exiles are corrupt; Crabbin (Wilfrid Hyde-White), head of the discussion group, talks endlessly about culture while effortlessly concealing his mistress peering through windows and clambering upstairs.
Concerning Harry Lime, Orson Welles gets to deliver one of the most well-known speeches and make one of the most well-known entrances in cinema history. By the time Lime makes his entrance, we’ve nearly forgotten that Welles features in the film at all. The details blend seamlessly with one another into one big puzzle the feline’s meow by the door, the enormous footwear, Holly’s audacious defiance, the light streaming through the window, and then the uncanny close-up shot of Lime’s face, which was enigmatic and taunting as if two university friends were caught in the act of performing an absurd joke.
This iconic speech is presented on an uncomfortable ride aboard a giant Ferris wheel. At a point, Lemon flings open the door of the carriage they are seated in, and Holly nervously puts one of her limbs around a pole. Harry tries to Mask himself: “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.” (This quote, Greene states, was created by Welles. )
The core emotional focus of the film is Holly’s obsession with Anna, who will reciprocate Harry’s affection towards her and love him, regardless of what there is to find out about him. The moments between Holly and Anna are further enriched by minute details, such as when they go to visit Harry’s house and she proceeds to open a drawer without glancing- Because she knows what is bound to be inside already. Or the way sometimes she stumbles and calls Holly “Harry.” Everyone in the film seems to struggle with names. Holly calls Calloway “Callahan,” and Dr. Winkle consistently pronounces it “VINK-ell!” Also the inscription on Harry Lime’s tombstone is incorrect.
The chase scene of “The Third Man” is yet another perfect combination of the right action and setting. Like a rat caught in a trap, Harry flees into the sewer system, while Reed cuts the chase scene into long, empty echoes of sewers and follows long shots of Lime when he is sprinting from the sewers. It is assumed that there are no lights in the Viennese sewers. However, there are powerful light sources just behind every corner, throwing elongated shadows, and backlighting Harry and his pursuers.
Calloway drives Holly back to the city where they pass Anna on the street. For an unexplained reason, Holly requests that he be let out of the jeep. He’s soon standing beneath a tree and waiting for Anna to walk closer. To his surprise, she walks past him while completely ignoring his presence. Holly smokes a cigarette and snaps from one reality to another. He wades through the utter hopelessness around him while throwing away his match in sheer exhaustion. Reed kept the camera running while Joseph Cotten wondered out loud if the scene would be cut sooner. The shot was unusually long but in Joseph’s eyes, it was perfect. The episode itself was wrapped in silence that was immeasurable both in time and expression.
The eerie tone of the film is what defines “The Third Man.” It captures the unshakeable confidence harbored by Americans after the war but equally demonstrates the hapless weariness in the bones of Europe. Unbelievably optimistic yet regretfully heartbreaking. The tale captures the essence of Lime’s crimes through the perspective of an adult and a trusting child.
The 2023 blog was based on the plot Jerome opened. The writer seemed to have understood, both, the books of dystopia and fantasy. “Casablanca” gives an emotional deep insight into how Americans dealt with WW&. It beams glory and hope. In simple terms, it’s tragic. “The Dark Man” focuses on America during the Cold War rather decided to showing it. Which led to severe anxiety and paranoia. The writers made it perfect the bomb is referred to as “the Bomb” in capital letters as if it were a person. Both of these movies don’t have a “happy ending” however, “The Third Man” particularly focusing on distrust and breakup has “cold” endings. Even so, “The Third Man” has Anna who faces the wrath of both Lime and Harry. Harry thwarts Anna’s attempt to save her. He will remember her until his last breath. However, Anna has no need nor the desire to tell Holly what she did, and she knows he will never understand.
This particular film captures the entire experience of cinematic romance. The first time I saw this film was on a rainy day in a small, smoky cinema on the Left Bank of Paris. The film tells the story of existential betrayal and loss. It was weary and knowing, and its style was glory defiance to the world it attempted to portray. Upon viewing the film, it struck me how many Hollywood productions resembled the pulp westerns Holly Martins crafted, being nothing more than naive formulas with happy endings for passive viewers. The other day I read they intend to remake “The Third Man.” Do you think Anna will give in to Holly, or will she remain true to her cynical and unspeakable knowledge?
To watch more movies like The Third Man (1949) visit 123Movies.
Also Watch for more movies like:
