The Third Man
(1949)
| An excellent adaptation of Graham Greene's short story about a cheap American pulp fiction writer, Holly Martins (Cotten), who comes to post-war Vienna at the behest of his best friend, Harry Lime. Once Holly arrives he is told that Lime has met an accidental death. He attends his friend's funeral, but soon finds discrepancies in the accounts of his death, and he wonders whether or not Lime has been murdered. Good acting by Cotten, but the film is stolen by Orson Welles, who does not appear until over half the movie is over and only remains on screen for three major scenes. Welles's entrance is arguably one of the greatest in film history. The mood of the movie is set by the extremely befitting and effective zither score by Anton Karas. It finishes with a great and climactic finale with a highly charged chase scene through the Vienna sewers ending finally with an eerie funeral. A great classic thriller with superb directing, acting, and plotline. It was voted the British Film Institute's greatest British film of the past century. |
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Stars: Joseph Cotten, Orson Welles, Alida Valli, Trevor Howard
Director: Carol Reed Producer: Alexander Korda Writer: Graham Greene Setting: Vienna Genre: Mystery/Film-noir |
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The Third Man Movie Photos |
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