"The Third Man" is one of the best films of the
1940s. It is an outstanding film, with a script
so dense that its quality cannot be fully
appreciated with a single viewing. The quirky
score, featuring a zither, puts a light touch on
what would otherwise be a very tense film. The
cast is first-rate, and there is some fine
cinematography of Vienna's bombed out buildings and underground sewers.
Joseph Cotten stars as potboiler author Holly
Martins, who has come to Austria to work for old
friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles). Postwar Austria
is politically divided into sectors controlled by
the U.S., England, France and Russia. A black
market thrives, and there is much political
intrigue. Upon arrival, Cotten learns that Lime
has died in a suspicious car accident... was it
murder? Lime left behind other loose ends: he was
wanted on multiple counts of murder for
profiteering from diluted penicillin. Cotten also
falls for Lime's devoted girlfriend, lovely but
unhappy Alida Valli.
"The Third Man" isn't exactly a forgotten
classic, but it still has not received its due
recognition. This may be because it was a British
production, and filmed on location in Austria.
The film is also in need of preservation: the
sound quality was low on the print that I saw.
Which is a shame, since every word of the
dialogue deserves to be heard. [The film has
since been restored.]
There are two versions of the film. The British
print is 104 minutes. Producer David O. Selznick
carefully pruned 11 minutes for the American
version, replacing the opening narration by
director Carol Reed with that of Joseph Cotten.
(96/100)
This classic noir mystery from the team of Carol Reed and Graham Greene is generally considered to be the best filmwork of both of these estimable tal...More at Family Video
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