The Third Man

(1949)
When most people think of Orson Welles, they think of his masterpiece Citizen Kane (or maybe the Halloween War of the Worlds stunt, but more likely Kane). But Welles was involved in a number of 'classic' films. Though I generally feel the forties are highly overrated as a film decade, nonetheless that's about the only time The Third Man could have been made. Welles' name may be associated with this film, but he's barely in it; playing the elusive figure of Harry Lime, Welles has only a precious few moments of screen time. The bulk of the film is carried by Joseph Cotten, who plays a down on his luck writer with the unlikely moniker of Holly Martins. Martins is summoned to post-WW2 Vienna (the movie was made in 1949 and seems to be set earlier, maybe in '46 or '47) by Lime with the promise of lucrative employment. Upon his arrival, however, Holly finds out that Harry has been killed in an automobile accident. But something doesn't sit right with Holly, and he begins to suspect his friend was actually murdered. Vienna right after the war is an intriguing place to set this film, and the unique set of circumstances helps to lend to the mystery of the piece. Partitioned into quarters and ruled over by the French, English, Russians, and Americans, Vienna is a breeding ground for criminals and grifters who can easily slip through the cracks in the multipartite bureaucracy, as Holly soon discovers. The plot gets more and more complicated as he gets closer to the truth about Harry. He ends up befriending Harry's old girlfriend, Anna Schmidt (Alida Valli), whom like everyone else is more than she seems. Constantly advising him to forget the whole thing is the businesslike but sympathetic English Major Calloway (sharply played by Trevor Howard). Of course when you look at a story written by Graham Greene, you know you're in for quality; the dialogue is sharp and witty and obscuring, much like the political climate of Vienna at the time. Greene gives us a city full of people trying to recover from the war, each of them bent on playing his own devious little game. All of them have an angle, from Anna down to the least friend of Harry's in the city, and Martins, though at heart a bumbling American, learns the rules quickly and proceeds with his investigation despite the fact that he really should have left things alone. The last twenty minutes or so involve a tense chase through the sewers of Vienna, and the scenes leading up to this sequence and the sequence itself are tightly written, eloquently shot, and keep you right on the edge of your seat. Director Carol Reed makes masterful use of light and dark in the chase scene, and just like Vienna itself at the time, freedom always manages to but just around the corner but never quite attainable. Of course we don't get a happy ending -- in this type of film it would hardly fit -- but we are given a satisfactory conclusion that fits the period. Joseph Cotten is even sharper here than he was in Citizen Kane. His Holly is a textured and complex character we can identify with, but who also has his prickly edges. Equally compelling is Alida Valli, who plays woman-of-mystery Anna with just the right touch of worldly desperation. And Trevor Howard is spot-on as Calloway, a man bent on doing his job and protecting the innocent, but perhaps the only character in the film who refuses to give in to the temptations of Vienna.

The city is really almost an extra character in the film; we see bombed out buildings and piles of rubble everywhere, reminding us that only recently this was a city held by the enemy and liberated at some cost. In the shadowy transition period of having four masters, the city and its people are tense and uncertain. Reed shoots Vienna as dark and wet, mostly, old and tired, and her fatigue has begun to wear down the people inhabiting her. Again, this would have been a movie difficult to make at other times for a variety of reasons; but it captures the mood of its moment perfectly. And what about Welles? His Lime manages to dominate the film despite very little screen time, because when he's not there, he's all anyone talks about. It's hard not to identify with Welles in this movie, despite his short screen time and despite the role he plays, because, well, he's Orson Welles, still young, still a clever actor, and not gone to pasture and four hundred pounds. He manages to sketch Harry very quickly, and we see a mercurial and impish character in a few brief strokes. Casting him was a masterstroke, if for no other reason than having his name in the credits means that this film won't be forgotten. Not that it should be; The Third Man is first rate suspense, without the need for mindless violence, car chases, or explosions. For anyone who likes spy films, this is requisite viewing; take a trip back in time and see how intrigue films really ought to be done. September 13, 2002