What is the story of The Third Man?
Set in postwar Vienna, Austria, “The Third Man” stars Joseph Cotten as Holly Martins, a writer of pulp Westerns, who arrives penniless as a guest of his childhood chum Harry Lime (Orson Welles), only to find him dead. 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 Maj. Calloway (Trevor Howard) and falling head-over-heels for Harry’s grief-stricken lover, Anna (Alida Valli).The Third Man / Film synopsis
Who killed Harry Lime in The Third Man?
Martins is told that Lime was killed by a car while crossing the street. At Lime’s funeral, Martins meets two British Royal Military Police: Sergeant Paine, a fan of Martins’s books, and his superior, Major Calloway. Afterward, Martins is asked by Mr. Crabbin to give a lecture to a book club a few days later.
What is the theme of The Third Man?
The movie’s themes of the movie are the irrationality of man, the power of evil and the importance of luck. Lime presumably could be successful without resorting to racketeering. Anna could find happiness without Lime.
Who shot Harry Lime?
31). Sarris’s nonsensical claims about Martins’ shooting of Lime, are also refuted by Carpenter who points out that “when Lime kills Paine in the sewers, Martins goes after him in a moment of anger; but when Martins kills Lime, he does so out of compassion for Lime’s suffering.
What is meant by The Third Man?
Definition of third man 1 : an offside fielding position in cricket usually near the boundary and roughly in line with third slip and the striker also : a player fielding in this position.
What happens to Harry Lime at the end of The Third Man?
However, upon his arrival, Martins is told that Lime died in an accident. Driven to investigate Lime’s death, Martins soon discovers incredible dark secrets about Lime’s life and death. On the arrival, he learns that Harry has just died, hit by a truck in front of his building, and he goes to his funeral.
Why is The Third Man so famous?
The film was the second collaboration between filmmaker Carol Reed and author Graham Greene, after the thrilling The Fallen Idol produced in 1948, and in its portrayal of this new world touched a wide variety of themes and ideas such as loss, betrayal, guilt, disenchantment and loneliness.
What is the instrument in The Third Man?
zither
The film opens on a shot of a zither, a stringed instrument composer Anton Karas used to score the film. Instead of a hard-boiled string section or a dark jazzy score, director Carol Reed elected to use Karas’ zither music after stumbling upon him at a production party.
Why was it called The Third Man?
Drazin speculates that Greene was aware of Philby’s double-agent life when they worked together in Portugal, though it was only in the mid-1950s that Philby was openly suspected of being a double agent and hence ‘the third man’ (this was finally confirmed in 1963).
Why is The Third Man so good?
Reminding of Orson Welles’ stylized pictures, The Third Man is a great example of a picture influenced by the German expressionism and American noirs since in the film, there is an intelligent use of lenses that distort figures and space, as well as, emphasized the shadows and darker tones of the sets and locations.
Does The Third Man have a happy ending?
But the biggest difference comes in the ending: Greene wanted a happy ending, with Holly (or Rollo) and Anna reunited, while Reed, and even producer David O. Selznick, a famous advocate of happy endings, believed that Anna should shun him. Reed’s cut has subsequently been restored for home video releases.