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
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.
What crime did Harry Lime commit?
racketeering
Over drinks, Calloway tells Holly Martins that his friend Harry Lime was involved in racketeering and is a murderer. Martins is forced to see Harry in a new light, and his reaction is to instantly side with his friend as he tries to hit the policeman for the accusation.
What is The Third Man based on?
But Reed’s undisputed masterpiece is “The Third Man,” a 1949 film noir based on a screenplay by the great British writer Graham Greene. The film involves a writer of Westerns, Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten), who comes to post-war Vienna after being promised a job by his childhood friend Harry Lime.
Why is The Third Man so famous?
British director Carol Reed’s 1949 Euro-noir “The Third Man” is justly famous among movie buffs and film scholars for its black-and-white cinematography, its memorable zingers, its atmosphere of paranoia (driven by Anton Karas’ pseudo-cheerful zither theme, which sounds more and more sinister the more you hear it) and …
Who is the narrator in The Third Man?
Major Calloway
The narrator in the novella is Major Calloway, which gives the book a slightly different emphasis from that of the screenplay. A small portion of his narration appears in a modified form at the film’s beginning in Reed’s voice-over: “I never knew the old Vienna”.
Why is The Third Man important?
“The Third Man” is important not just because of its technique but because of its theme: Just because blundering Americans rule the world does not mean they understand it, and American cultural hegemony has transformed the global economy into the plot of a gangster movie.
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.
What shocking news does Holly find out about his friend after he arrives in the city?
In the post Second World War, the unemployed pulp fiction writer Holly Martins arrives in Vienna to meet with his old friend from school, Harry Lime, who has offered him a job. 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.
Who is the villain in The Third Man?
Harold “Harry” Lime is the main antagonist of Carol Reed’s 1949 thriller film The Third Man.
What is the genre of The Third Man?
Noir
ThrillerDramaPsychological thrillerMystery
The Third Man/Genres
What happens to Harry Lime at the end of The Third Man?
He’s 10 minutes too late — Lime was knocked down by a car outside his apartment building and killed. At the funeral, Martins meets Major Calloway (Trevor Howard) of the British military police, who had an interest in Lime for his black market activities.