Oscar Anniversaries: The Third Man (1950)

Film noir at its finest! 

Joseph Cotten plays Holly Martens, an American author who travels to the British sector of Vienna post-WWII because an old childhood friend, Harry Lime, has offered him a job. The problem? Once Holly arrives, he finds out that Harry has recently been killed. He was apparently struck by a vehicle while crossing the street.

The keyword is “apparently,” because Holly soon finds out that there’s much more to the story. And instead of traveling back to America after Harry’s funeral, he decides to stay and investigate the death of his friend. Harry was struck by the vehicle and carried to the other side of the street by his two friends, Baron Kurtz and Popescu. Before he died, he told them to take care of his girlfriend, an actress named Anna Schmidt, and his friend who was arriving (Holly). Holly soon finds out from the porter in the apartment complex at the scene of the accident that Harry wasn’t carried by two men, but by THREE. So who is the titular third man who disappeared before the police arrived?

With several players in the mix and conflicting stories, the mystery only becomes more complex and intriguing! Add to the fact that because we are in Vienna, some of the characters only speak German, and we aren’t given subtitles, which I think was done on purpose to add more confusion (to those of us who don’t speak German), a brilliant idea by the screenwriter (Grahame Greene). But beyond a fantastic screenplay is the absolutely gorgeous Oscar-winning cinematography, along with brilliant lighting design (which actually goes hand-in-hand with the cinematography), tight editing, and a memorable score by Anton Karas. The score itself is unusual, because it’s more upbeat and whimsical, which would normally be out of place with this genre of film. But somehow, it works! It adds so much originality to the film.

The cast are all fine, but especially Orson Wells as a mysterious character who I won’t name to prevent spoilers. The set design, although it is a mixture of actual locations in Vienna and sets built for the film, is fantastic. And I can’t rave about the lighting and cinematography enough! So many incredibly gorgeous shots (especially those iconic shots in the streets and the sewers in the film’s final act). Hands-down, some of the finest cinematography in the history of film. Wonderfully shot, tightly edited, and an intriguing screenplay with some brilliant twists, this film is an absolute classic for several reasons. Filmed in Britain in 1949, but not released until 1950 in United States, it did land a few Oscar nominations (and a deserving win for it’s cinematography). I’m surprised it wasn’t recognized in several other categories! Yes, it was 1950 and the two major Oscar players were Sunset Boulevard and All About Eve, but The Third Man is right up there with them and should’ve gotten several more nominations from the Academy.

NOMINATIONS DESERVED:

Picture

Director

Original Screenplay

Supporting Actor (Welles)

Editing

Cinematography

Art Direction

Original Score

Sound