The Third Man (1949) More at IMDb Pro »

A great deal has been said about "The Third Man" by contributors to this forum. Having seen the restored copy that was shown at the Film Forum, recently, I could not resist watching this masterpiece once more when it was shown by TCM, the other night.

This movie owes a debt of gratitude to Graham Greene, a writer who had the most developed sense of intrigue among his contemporaries and one of the best writers of the last century. It also helped that a great director, Carol Reed, brought it to the screen. Mr. Reed was a director who had an eye for detail, as he demonstrates here, as well as in the rest of the body of work he left for us to enjoy.

The screen play is faithful to the original novel. If to all of the other elements we add the fabulous cinematography of Robert Krasker, the result has to be the masterpiece we see today. Never before has a city taken center stage in the development of the story that is presented here. Mr. Krasker's wonderful night vision of this city enhances the story as we are taken along for a fantastic trip of the post war Vienna of 1949.

The casting of this film is amazing. Never had so many excellent actors been thrown together in a film, as it is the case as with this picture. Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Trevor Howard, Orson Welles, Bernard Lee, Ernst Deutsch, Paul Horbiger, Erich Ponto and Wilfred Hyde White are splendid in their roles. It is hard to imagine these characters played by other actors.

Orson Welles has perhaps the best part, even though his time before the camera is short. This must have been one of the best roles in which Welles appeared. Of course, there are so many others, but his Harry Lime is an original and could have fitted perfectly in one of his own films.

The music by Anton Karas is still haunting, with the exception of a few times at the beginning of a couple of scenes, when it startles the viewer and actually doesn't add anything to what we are about to see.

This film will live forever.