The movie
The Third Man is a 1949 British film noir, written by Graham Greene and directed by Carol Reed. The cast includes Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, Bernard Lee and Trevor Howard.
The film won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography-Black and White (Robert Krasker). The film was also nominated for Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Film Editing. Reed won the Palme d’ Or at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1999, the British Film Institute voted The Third Man the greatest British film of all time.
The story takes place at the post-war Vienna at the start of the Cold War. Holly Martins, an American author of western fiction (played by Cotten) arrives in Vienna to find his childhood friend, Harry Lime, who has offered him a job. However, Martins is informed that Lime has been recently killed by a car.
At Lime’s funeral Martins meets two British Royal Military Police, Sergeant Paine (played by Lee) and Major Calloway (played by Howard), as well as Lime’s girlfriend, actress Anna Schmidt (played by Valli).
After some talks with Lime’s acquaintances, Martins and Anna realize that there might be a “third man” apart from the two that supposedly carried away the body from the street after the accident. Martins is also informed by Calloway that Lime was stealing penicillin from military hospitals, diluting it and selling it on the black market at those difficult times, injuring or killing adults and children.
One evening, as Martins walks the streets of Vienna, he realizes that someone is watching from a darkened doorway. In a momentary flash of light, he recognizes Harry Lime ! (played by Welles). Martins calls out but Lime vanishes. After that the British police exhume Lime’s coffin and discover that it is of another person who stole the penicillin for Lime. Then, Martins agrees to help the police.
The scene
Lime is chased by the police and he tries to escape using the sewer tunnels. Police pursue him below ground. Lime shoots and kills Sgt. Paine and Calloway shoots and badly wounds Lime. Lime tries to escape through a cast-iron stairway up to the street but he fails.
Martins finds Lime and they exchange a look. Lime nods his head slightly asking Martins for a deathblow. Martins shoots and kills him.
The Third Man is a masterpiece that obviously deserves a leading place in any cinephile library.
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