A Filmmaker's Guide to: "The Third Man" (1949)

In this chapter of ‘the filmmaker’s guide’ we are going to explore some of the films that have changed our outlook of the possibilities in cinema in some way, shape or form. These can include, but are not limited to: revolutionary cinematography, narratives that challenge the social structure and the common view, trademark styles of auter cinema, brilliant adaptations of novels and other works, films of philosophical value and films that touch our hearts and souls with their incredible underlying messages and morals. Within each of the films in this chapter there is a certain something that makes them special and a certain something that makes them linger long after we have watched them for the first time. Lasting impressions are difficult to create, but I think that the films we will briefly touch on in this chapter are some of the films we will never ever forget.

“The Third Man” (1949) dir. by Carol Reed

One of my favourite movies of all time, this is basically the epitome of film noir. Directed by Carol Reed and starring Joseph Cotton and Orson Welles, the film was released on the 1st of September 1949 in the UK and is known as the greatest film to be made by an English Director by various magazines and critics. Based on the book by Graham Greene, it is considered to have one of the greatest speeches in movie history within it which, of course, is the one spoken by Orson Welles on the Ferris Wheel.

From the incredible dialogue written in three different languages throughout the film to the brilliant soundtrack which went on to inspire numerous other films and their use of incredible repeated sounds, leading to the creation of theme music. There is really nothing quite like watching and re-watching this film over and over again. Especially if you like to examine the real beauty of conceal and reveal through dialogue in crime films.

The one great thing you get to study in this film is the use of duplicity in character. Anna, a character portrayed by Alida Valli, is a woman with a multi-faceted personality in which she shows herself as certain people at the correct times. At once, she is both romantically interested in Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) and entirely devoted to Harry Lime (Orson Welles). She has problems with her landlady and yet she is nowhere near who she says she is, especially when she gets questioned. When she speaks German, you can hear her tone change, become almost more joyful, but when she speaks English she is automatically back to the strain of having to remember whatever part she had in the Harry Lime case. Something she does not want to reveal too much of, just like everyone else in Martin’s path.

If you have seen this film then you would be perfectly familiar with the chase scene between Holly Martins and Harry Lime through the sewers of the city. It’s a brilliantly filmed sequence through its use of frequent cuts, contrasting darkness, shadows and more. Becoming one of the most iconic chase scenes of its age was no big deal as it had conquered the main reason for having the sequence in the film at all - climax of action. Throughout the film we are constantly learning about the duplicitous nature of various characters and as we learn this, we also see that many of them are not telling Holly Martins the truth. As the truth unfolds, so does the strangeness of the situation and from the scene where the cat runs up to Harry Lime through to the very end of the film, this tension keeps getting played and replayed against the audience. No matter how many times you watch the film, that immediate act of tension with the scene containing the cat is one of the most satisfying scenes in movie history. You just know it is really all beginning there and then. The tension and the move towards the end is something we just wait for. The entire feeling of tension depends on how right they got that single scene that marks the denouement. They got it so very right.

“Oh Holly, what fools we are, talking to each other this way. As though I would do anything to you, or you to me. You're just mixed up about things in general. Nobody thinks in terms of human beings. Governments don't. Why should we? They talk about the people and the proletariat, I talk about the suckers and the mugs - it's the same thing. They have their five-year plans, so have I.”

- Harry Lime, “The Third Man” (1949)

Ferris Wheel Scene

Just take a look at the brilliance of shot and dialogue in this one scene: