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The Third Man

1949 film directed by Carol Reed

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"The Third Man" is a 1949 film directed by Carol Reed about an American writer who travels to post-World War II Vienna to visit an old friend, only to find him dead under mysterious circumstances. The film is widely regarded as a masterpiece of cinema for its innovative visual style, compelling noir-like mystery, and exploration of moral ambiguity in a divided, occupied city.

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Film · TMDB

7.9

In postwar Vienna, Austria, Holly Martins, a writer of pulp Westerns, arrives penniless as a guest of his childhood chum Harry Lime, only to learn he has died. Martins develops a conspiracy theory after learning of a "third man" present at the time of Harry's death, running into interference from British officer Major Calloway, and falling head-over-heels for Harry's grief-stricken lover, Anna.

Released: 1949-08-31105 minDir: Carol ReedThriller, Mystery

Cast

Joseph Cotten as Holly Martins
Alida Valli as Anna Schmidt
Trevor Howard as Major Calloway
Orson Welles as Harry Lime
Paul Hörbiger as Karl the Porter
Ernst Deutsch as 'Baron' Kurtz

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Key dates

Inception

Article

The Third Man (Der dritte Mann) is a 1949 film noir directed by Carol Reed, written by Graham Greene, and starring Joseph Cotten as Holly Martins, Alida Valli as Anna Schmidt, Orson Welles as Harry Lime and Trevor Howard as Major Calloway. Set in post-World War II Allied-occupied Vienna, the film centres on American writer Holly Martins, who arrives in the city to accept a job with his friend Harry Lime, only to learn that he has died. Martins stays in Vienna to investigate Lime's death, becoming infatuated with Lime's girlfriend Anna Schmidt.

The use of black-and-white German expressionist-influenced cinematography by Robert Krasker, with its harsh lighting and Dutch angles, is a major feature of The Third Man. Combined with the use of ruined locations in Vienna, the style evokes exhaustion and cynicism at the start of the Cold War.