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Actors: Joseph Cotten, Trevor Howard, Orson Welles, Alida Valli
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about The Third Man |
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In Vienna just after the end of World War II: An out of work pulp fiction novelist, Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten), arrives in a post war Vienna at the urging of his friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles). But upon arriving, Martins finds out his friend is dead after being hit by a car and attends his funeral. But after the funeral and a chat with British Military Officer Major Calloway (Trevor Howard), Martins suspects his friend was murdered. His suspicions grow even more when he can only identify two of the men who carried Harry's body.
Meeting with Harry's lover Anna Schmidt (Alida Valli), Martins delves into the world of the blackmarket in an attempt to find out who was the third man who dragged away Harry's body. But soon it leads to a drug racket and the discovery that Harry is really alive.
--Matthew W. Kresal, Resident Scholar
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Out-of-work pulp fiction novelist Holly Martins (Cotten) travels to wartorn Vienna at the behest of his old friend Harry Lime, who has offered him a job. On arrival, Martins learns that Lime has been killed in a car accident. As Martins investigates, he finds the various stories don't add up. The commander of the British sector of the city, Major Calloway (Howard), informs Martins that his friend was an entrepreneurial criminal who made big money on the deaths of innocent people. Martins also falls for Lime's Czech girlfriend, Anna (Valli), who remains devoted to the dead man. This excellent 1949 noir has worn extremely well, and features Orson Welles at his physical and acting peak: vicious, charming, and utterly irresistable. He dominates the movie, though he doesn't appear on camera for much more than 10 of its 104 minutes.
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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Based on the Graham Greene novel, THE THIRD MAN is a movie produced and directed by Carol Reed in 1949. The picture earned an Oscar (Best Cinematography) and two other nominations for the 1951 Academy Awards.
The setting is Vienna, Austria just after the end of WWII. The city is divided into four districts : american, british, french and russian. Joseph Cotten is a broke writer coming from America to see his old friend Harry Lime in Vienna . But all he can do is attend Harry's funeral as his friend has just died in an accident. But there is something wrong with this accident. Were there two or three men around when Harry died on the sidewalk ?
Cotten, dissatisfied with the way the police has treated this case, begins his own investigation in the company of Alida Valli, Harry Lime's girlfriend. Cotten falls violently in love with the young girl but Valli still lives with the memory of Harry and doesn't return Cotten's advances.
Working more and more closely on the case with Trevor Howard, the officer responsible for the british sector of Vienna, Cotten will learn that Harry Lime was in fact an odious criminal who didn't hesitate to sell impure penicillin to the local Vienna hospitals that caused numerous deaths among the patients. So when Harry -Orson Welles- Lime abruptly reappears, Cotten will join the ranks of the police against his old friend and take part into the famous manhunt in the sewers of Vienna.
--Daniel Staebler, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of The Third Man |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- 1930's-1950's
Crime & Scandal
Yes
Story of
- con-artist/white collar crime
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- writer
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) average
Events of movie makes character more...
- sad
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor?
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Hair style
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) average build
How much in movie?
- 60%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- British
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- criminal
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 20%
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) average
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- Austria
City?
Yes
City:
- dirty, grimy (like New York)
- dangerous
Misc setting
- fort/military installation
- sewers/subways
- bar
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Check here if B&W
Yes
Non-American film?
Yes
What language?
- English
Subtitles?
- No
Any profanity?
- None
If soundtrack VERY NOTICEABLE...
- Folk music
Is this movie based on a
- book
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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