The Third Man

The Third Man (1949)
Directed by Carol Reed

Holly Martins, an American pulp fiction writer who does not speak any German, is in over his head - he has flown into Vienna in the hopes of meeting up with his old friend, Harry Lime, who he discovers has been suspiciously run-over by a car hours before his arrival. Martins (Joseph Cotten), curious to find out what has happened to his friend, asks around and learns that the various witnesses' stories do not match. He meets the two people who claim they were the only ones present at the car crash, but he discovers, through Harry's porter, that a mysterious third man was also at the scene.

What follows is a crime story that involves British police officers - Vienna is occupied by an international contingency - who are not trusted by the protagonist and an actress named Anna Schmidt (Alida Valli) who, seemingly against her own wishes, remains in love - and obsessed - with Lime. The Third Man has an intriguing plot from the beginning, but it is not until we are introduced to this mysterious "third man" (Orson Welles) that the film becomes a fascinating thriller that ends with a gripping chase sequence in the sewers of Vienna. Part of the joy of watching the film stems from witnessing Welles's brilliant performance - his "third man" is at once devious and charming, a selfish man who is utterly enthralling.

Another aspect that The Third Man succeeds at is in its ability to project Martins's confusion visually. Robert Krasker's brilliant cinematography combines aesthetically-pleasing compositions with such unusual techniques as dutch angles and beautifully back-lit shots that create a formerly-familiar world that has, in Martins's eyes, gone topsy-turvy.

The Third Man is not a perfect film as some of the characters, particularly the British officers and Martins, are essentially caricatures, a number of the edits feel awkward, and there is a strange subplot involving a kid loudly accusing Martins of murdering a victim that is promptly abandoned. But the film's brilliant aspects more than make up for these shortcomings.

Rating: 9

First Viewed: 5/15/08
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