The Third Man

The IMDB Top 250 can provide a funny way of looking at movies. Any big budget new release almost automatically jumps onto the list -- only now is The Dark Knight starting to drop some -- while other above average but not classic movies, like The Shawshank Redemption reside in the No. 1 spot. Make a point some time and cruise through the list which does have it's fair share of classic movies which actually deserve their spots, like 1949's The Third Man which I'm still wavering about.

Before I start, I will say I don't know if there's a way to review this movie without giving away key plot twists and revelations. Sooooooo, if you haven't seen The Third Man and don't want the ending spoiled for you, I'd stop reading pretty soon. It is a tricky movie to review to start off with a lot in the good and a few things in the bad.

It's 1948 post-war Vienna where the city is still feeling the effects of WWII with the city cordoned off into four sections (U.S., French, Russian, British) and piles of rubbles from bombings still dotting the streets. Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten), an American pulp fiction writer with a drinking problem, travels to Vienna to take a job offered by his best friend, Harry Lime, who he has not seen since 1939. Upon arriving, Holly finds out that Harry was killed in a car accident right outside his apartment. Talking to the people involved, including Harry's girlfriend Anna (Alida Valli) and several people who were at the scene, Holly starts to question the story with several inconsistencies arising.

Also involved and seemingly with a lot of information they're not willing to give out are Major Calloway (Trevor Howard) and Sergeant Paine (pre-James Bond Bernard Lee), police officers on the Lime case. Apparently Harry Lime was a low-level racketeer taking part in some shady dealings, but Holly doesn't believe that his best friend could be capable of the things being pegged on him. Could it all be true? The issue off the bat for me is with the cast listing. Orson Welles gets third billing right from the start but doesn't appear in the movie for quite a long time. So the obvious connection, Welles is Harry Lime and this good old boy sure ain't dead. Was it supposed to trick people? Who knows, but the reveal doesn't come as much of a surprise.

Welle's star-power aside, the reveal that Harry is alive is one of the coolest character entrances in movie history with Welles delivering that smart-ass smile that only he could deliver. That scene is just one example of the movie's incredible cinematography from Robert Krasker. Director Carol Reed opted to shoot the movie on location in Vienna and using black and white photography creates a shadowy underworld full of dark alleys and eeriely empty streets. Story and characters are one thing, but you could watch The Third Man on mute and still take something away from it. The ending is a highlight especially with SPOILERS Harry being chased through the sewers underneath Vienna, and then the final shot is one that lingers on and on.

Welles makes the most of his part, mostly an extended cameo because he isn't introduced until well over an hour into the story. His scene on a Ferris wheel with Cotten's Martins is one of the better scenes in the movie, full of quick, snappy dialogue that's punctuated with one of my new favorite lines. Cotten is all right as Holly, but his character doesn't come across well and I found myself disliking him more and more as the movie moved along, especially his blooming love with Valli's Anna. Howard and Lee are perfectly cast as the stiff upper lip Englishmen, both aiding and slowing down Martins' investigation.

On to my complaints, starting with the sountrack. No orchestra or band playing, just a zither providing the musical score. Sounding at times like a ukelele, it just doesn't fit in certain scenes and is overused to the point where I'd cringe every time the same tune kept playing over and over again. Here's the main theme that is used in several variations throughout. It just doesn't fit the tone and suspense of the movie, which is incredibly dark with it's subject matter especially for a movie released in 1949. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this movie after some early concerns through the first 45-60 minutes or so. Definitely watch The Third Man, even if it's just for the on-location Vienna B&W shooting.

The Third Man <----trailer (1949): ***/**** Part 1 of 12 on Youtube