Der dritte Mann (1949)
32KDer dritte Mann: Directed by Carol Reed. With Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, Trevor Howard. Pulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend, Harry Lime.
“This is a rare film that is flawless in every respect. It combines great acting and memorable characters with a fascinating story, taking place in an interesting setting and adding a creative musical score. u0026quot;The Third Manu0026quot; is remembered for many things – for Orson Wellesu0026#39; wonderful performance in his appearances as Harry Lime, for its wonderfully appropriate musical score, and for its nicely conceived plot surprises. Adding to these is Joseph Cottenu0026#39;s fine portrayal of Holly Martins, which holds the rest of it together – it is his character who initiates most of the action, and also through whom we view everything and everyone else.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe story starts, after a nicely done prologue, with Martins arriving in Vienna, and finding out that his friend Harry is not only dead but is accused of running a particularly destructive black market racket. Martins sets out at once to prove his friendu0026#39;s innocence, getting into an immediate scuffle with the police, and it seems at first to set up a conventional plot about clearing the name of a friend – but the actual story that follows is much deeper and much better. It is just right that Martins is an innocent who writes cheap novels for a living, and he gets a pretty memorable lesson in fiction vs. reality. There are some great scenes (the Ferris-wheel confrontation being as good a scene as there is in classic cinema) leading up to a memorable climactic sequence, and a good supporting cast, with Alida Valli as Anna being very good in complementing Lime and Martins. The setting in crumbling post-war Vienna and the distinctive zither score go very nicely with the story.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis is a fine, flawless classic, and while obviously belonging to an earlier era, it deserves a look from anyone who appreciates good movies.”
