The Third Man

[Flopper]

The Third Man (1949) directed by Carol Reid starting Joseph Cotton, Alida Valli, Orson Wells, and Trevor Howard with a screenplay by Graham Green is one of the finniest movies every made. Never has a movie musical score intertwined so perfectly with the cinematography. The story takes place in the divided city of Vienna after WWII. It is a good mystery with interesting characters with great music and photography. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 99%. The final scene is one of most famous in classic movies.

 

[Billy_Kinetta]

The Third Man (1949) directed by Carol Reid starting Joseph Cotton, Alida Valli, Orson Wells, and Trevor Howard with a screenplay by Graham Green is one of the finniest movies every made. Never has a movie musical score intertwined so perfectly with the cinematography. The story takes place in the divided city of Vienna after WWII. It is a good mystery with interesting characters with great music and photography. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 99%. The final scene is one of most famous in classic movies.

I agree. One of the finniest films of all time.

 

[beautress]

The Third Man (1949) directed by Carol Reid starting Joseph Cotton, Alida Valli, Orson Wells, and Trevor Howard with a screenplay by Graham Green is one of the finniest movies every made. Never has a movie musical score intertwined so perfectly with the cinematography. The story takes place in the divided city of Vienna after WWII. It is a good mystery with interesting characters with great music and photography. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 99%. The final scene is one of most famous in classic movies.

Always loved the tune to the Third Man Theme.

 

[Flopper]

The Third Man (1949) directed by Carol Reid starting Joseph Cotton, Alida Valli, Orson Wells, and Trevor Howard with a screenplay by Graham Green is one of the finniest movies every made. Never has a movie musical score intertwined so perfectly with the cinematography. The story takes place in the divided city of Vienna after WWII. It is a good mystery with interesting characters with great music and photography. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 99%. The final scene is one of most famous in classic movies.

Always loved the tune to the Third Man Theme.

There is an interesting story about the music.
Carol Reed walking on the streets of Vienna heard a street musician playing the Zither. He knew immediately that he had found the music for his movie. The Musician was Anton Karas who made a living playing part time in taverns and on the the streets. Reed ask him to come to England and write and play the music for his new movie. Karas being shy by nature and afraid of strangers, turned him down. However after much persuasion Karas agreed. After the movie was released he played in serval concerts and recorded his music but his Third Man theme would be his only popular composition.

Karas returned to Vienna and opened a tavern, which became fashionable among cinema celebrities including Orson Welles, Gina Lollobrigida, Curd Jurgens, and Hans Moser, thereby becoming a tourist attraction. Karas was not satisfied, as he preferred to perform for locals who would understand him, his language and music. Because of this, he retired and retreated from the limelight in 1966, explaining, "I'm just not a tourist guy."

 

[beautress]

The Third Man (1949) directed by Carol Reid starting Joseph Cotton, Alida Valli, Orson Wells, and Trevor Howard with a screenplay by Graham Green is one of the finniest movies every made. Never has a movie musical score intertwined so perfectly with the cinematography. The story takes place in the divided city of Vienna after WWII. It is a good mystery with interesting characters with great music and photography. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 99%. The final scene is one of most famous in classic movies.

Always loved the tune to the Third Man Theme.

There is an interesting story about the music.
Carol Reed walking on the streets of Vienna heard a street musician playing the Zither. He knew immediately that he had found the music for his movie. The Musician was Anton Karas who made a living playing part time in taverns and on the the streets. Reed ask him to come to England and write and play the music for his new movie. Karas being shy by nature and afraid of strangers, turned him down. However after much persuasion Karas agreed. After the movie was released he played in serval concerts and recorded his music but his Third Man theme would be his only popular composition.

Karas returned to Vienna and opened a tavern, which became fashionable among cinema celebrities including Orson Welles, Gina Lollobrigida, Curd Jurgens, and Hans Moser, thereby becoming a tourist attraction. Karas was not satisfied, as he preferred to perform for locals who would understand him, his language and music. Because of this, he retired and retreated from the limelight in 1966, explaining, "I'm just not a tourist guy."

I guess that lovely theme song just had a haunting frame so lovely...

 

[Flopper]

The Third Man (1949) directed by Carol Reid starting Joseph Cotton, Alida Valli, Orson Wells, and Trevor Howard with a screenplay by Graham Green is one of the finniest movies every made. Never has a movie musical score intertwined so perfectly with the cinematography. The story takes place in the divided city of Vienna after WWII. It is a good mystery with interesting characters with great music and photography. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 99%. The final scene is one of most famous in classic movies.

Always loved the tune to the Third Man Theme.

There is an interesting story about the music.
Carol Reed walking on the streets of Vienna heard a street musician playing the Zither. He knew immediately that he had found the music for his movie. The Musician was Anton Karas who made a living playing part time in taverns and on the the streets. Reed ask him to come to England and write and play the music for his new movie. Karas being shy by nature and afraid of strangers, turned him down. However after much persuasion Karas agreed. After the movie was released he played in serval concerts and recorded his music but his Third Man theme would be his only popular composition.

Karas returned to Vienna and opened a tavern, which became fashionable among cinema celebrities including Orson Welles, Gina Lollobrigida, Curd Jurgens, and Hans Moser, thereby becoming a tourist attraction. Karas was not satisfied, as he preferred to perform for locals who would understand him, his language and music. Because of this, he retired and retreated from the limelight in 1966, explaining, "I'm just not a tourist guy."

I guess that lovely theme song just had a haunting frame so lovely...

The music blends in so well with the cinematography. Take a look at the final scene of movie following Harry Limes funeral as Holly waits for Anna. The music is perfect for the melancholy mood as Anna walks past Holly, the audience hoping beyond hope that she will turn to Holly giving us a happy ending but that would be too out of charter for both Holly and Anna.




Notice how well the music plays off against the wonderful cinematography of Robert Krasker in the scene with authorities waiting in ambush for Harry Limes.

 

[whitehall]

Classic noir at it's best filmed amid authentic depressing post war rubble. A little trivia: what kind of animal bit Holly? Real fans would know.

 

[Flopper]

Classic noir at it's best filmed amid authentic depressing post war rubble. A little trivia: what kind of animal bit Holly? Real fans would know.

Holly gets bit by a parrot while running away from two men. The scene begins with Holly giving his unprepared speech to the book club where one of Lime’s friends, Popescu, is attending. Popescu asks Holly if he has any books coming up and Holly responds by saying he is going to write one called “The Third Man” which is based on facts. Popescu responds saying that he should stick to fiction. This then leads to Holly being chased by two men and eventually to him being bit by a parrot. When asked about his injury later, no one believes Holly when he says that it is due to a parrot bite.

The Use of Animals in The Third Man

Carol Reed’s 1949 film, The Third Man, is a film that focuses on the global post-war anxieties of WWII and experiments with the changing gender roles of the time. The film’s noir style can be seen …

jaspergolfer.wordpress.com

.

 

[whitehall]

That's right, a bird. Kind of a weird thing that you wouldn't expect to catch you off guard but typical of the noir.

 

[Flopper]

Classic noir at it's best filmed amid authentic depressing post war rubble. A little trivia: what kind of animal bit Holly? Real fans would know.

Holly gets bit by a parrot while running away from two men. The scene begins with Holly giving his unprepared speech to the book club where one of Lime’s friends, Popescu, is attending. Popescu asks Holly if he has any books coming up and Holly responds by saying he is going to write one called “The Third Man” which is based on facts. Popescu responds saying that he should stick to fiction. This then leads to Holly being chased by two men and eventually to him being bit by a parrot. When asked about his injury later, no one believes Holly when he says that it is due to a parrot bite.

The Use of Animals in The Third Man

Carol Reed’s 1949 film, The Third Man, is a film that focuses on the global post-war anxieties of WWII and experiments with the changing gender roles of the time. The film’s noir style can be seen …

jaspergolfer.wordpress.com

.

There were a lot of unusually things about the "The Thrid Man". “The Lives of Harry Lime” was a 52 episode radio series made in England and broadcast in the US in 1951-52 starring Orson Welles. It was a pre-sequel to the movie. Both Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart were offered the part of Holly in the movie but they turned it down. Joseph Cotton was offered the part because he would work cheap and Orson Welles would not do the movie without him. The original screen play by Graham Green called for Holly to get together with Anna in the final scene giving Americans the happy ending they always crave. Thankfully, Carol Reed went for a more the realist ending which fit the characters of Holly and Anna better.

 

[Tommy Tainant]

In my youth I did a degree in English Lit. I remember that one of my lectureers was a huge fan of the film. We were discussing Paradise Lost and how evil could be seductive to people. He recited the cuckoo clock scene word for word. Lime representing Satan.

Of course he was Satan but I suspect you could enjoy a pint with him as well.

 

[Flopper]

Welles, not Graham Green is responsible for most of the dialog in the scene. He ad-libbed the line, " In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace – and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

 

[kseeding]

The score and the film are priceless, both are considered classics. I wish we will have acting like this today while using the latest graphics.

 

[Flopper]

The score and the film are priceless, both are considered classics. I wish we will have acting like this today while using the latest graphics.

IMHO, a great movie must first have a good story, a director who how knows how to tell that story, actors that can develop the characters, and sound and cinematography that complements rather than distracts. The Third Man had all of the above. David Lean movies such as Hobson's Choice, Ryan's Daughter, and Lawrence of Arabia are good examples. Others such as To Kill a Mocking Bird, My Fair Lady, The Godfather, and Citizen Kane are good examples.

Over the last 20's years there have been a number of good movies, but very few really great movies.

 

[Tommy Tainant]

I find it very difficult to understand what the actors are actually saying in many modern films. The sound quality is so poor.
News of the World is a recent one that I struggled with, I believe that it is deliberate on the part of the directors. Authenticity or something.

 

[Flopper]

I find it very difficult to understand what the actors are actually saying in many modern films. The sound quality is so poor.
News of the World is a recent one that I struggled with, I believe that it is deliberate on the part of the directors. Authenticity or something.

I agree. My wife says I need a hearing, not sure about that. I find the sound in many action movies far too loud or maybe I just don't enjoy the sounds of cars crashing, building falling, and planets exploding. IMHO today, the dialog in many of these movies is not worth hearing and you know how it's going to end after the first 10 mins.

A good story is the first requirement of a good movie followed by a director that knows how tell it, and actors that create memorable characters. In so many movies, the actors create forgettable cardboard characters.

Sort of off the subject, but have you ever noticed how difficult it is to view night scenes in some old B&W moves?. It is like there are no shades of grey so it's very difficult to view?