THE THIRD MAN (1949)

Country: U.S.A.

Genre(s): Crime / Drama

Director: Carol Reed

Cast: Joseph Cotten / Alida Valli / Orson Welles

Plot

American novelist Holly Martins travels to post-war Austria to meet his friend Harry Lime, only to be told that Lime has died under mysterious circumstances.  Martins is soon immersed in the Vienna underworld on his quest to find out the truth of Lime's demise.

What I Liked

With tricks of the camera, clever use of shadows, and terrific use of location, the filmmakers turn Vienna into as much of a dark and perverted landscape as it is a moral and political wasteland in the script.  The city itself, with its random piles of rubble, shadowy doorways, twisting alleys, abandoned carnivals, and labyrinthine sewers, is as important of a cast member as any of the actors.  This is an eerie place and its mood haunts all the action of the movie.

That darkness inhabits not just the action, but the script as well.  As the film progresses and Martins finds himself delving deeper into the truth about his friend and Vienna, the naïve writer becomes an increasingly obsessed avenger, willing to risk his life and those of others to get to the bottom of the mystery.  His dialogue changes accordingly, as do those of the supporting cast, as the film draws closer to its conclusion.  Then there is the magnificent speeches given to Orson Welles as his character appears and disappears throughout the final half of the movie.  Some of Welles' lines are shockingly nihilistic yet are delivered with such concise logic they deal the final death blow to any lingering ideals poor Martins might have left.

The general consensus that Welles steals the show during his few on screen appearances is so true it is an understatement.  Welles is charismatic to the point of hypnotic as a manipulative sociopath who has every other character in the story seemingly addicted to him.

What I Didn't Like

There's really not much here to dislike, other than perhaps that Welles' appearances are so limited.  But of course because of the role he plays his appearances have to remain tantalizingly restricted.  So his scarcity ultimately only contributes to the film's overall mystery.

Most Memorable Scene:

As mentioned before, Welles' speech while he and the main character are perched high above the carnival is both disturbing and dementedly logical.  Delivered with a cool confidence and conviction, it not only defines Welles' character, it haunts Joseph Cotten's.

My Rating: 4 out of 5