The Third Man, 1949

CONTAINS SPOILERS. A great FILM NOIR; An out of work pulp fiction novelist, Holly Martins, arrives in a post war Vienna divided into sectors by the victorious allies, and where a shortage of supplies has lead to a flourishing black market. He arrives at the invitation of an ex-school friend, Harry Lime, who has offered him a job, only to discover that Lime has recently died in a peculiar traffic accident. From talking to Lime's friends and associates Martins soon notices that some of the stories are inconsistent, and determines to discover what really happened to Harry Lime. The character of Harry Lime, alive or dead, on-screen or not, is one of cinema's most fascinating villains. Charming & deadly as any cobra, he attracts & repels at the same moment. It is interesting to note that BBC Radio resurrected the character for the series 'The Lives of Harry Lime' very shortly after the film's release. Harry was not allowed to stay in his grave for long... Three more items of note: (1) The cinematography is first-rate, making Vienna by night look almost lunar. (2) Orson Welles' first appearance on screen is memorable. (3) Above and around and through everything is the famous zither music of Anton Karas, which becomes like a Greek Chorus, commenting on the action. Its complete silence during the sewer chase only underscores the starkness of the sequence. A classic and fine example of FILM NOIR. A 5 STAR FILM

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