The Third Man (1949)

NR08/31/1949Thriller, Mystery1h 45m

Hunted by men ... Sought by WOMEN!

Overview

In postwar Vienna, Austria, Holly Martins, a writer of pulp Westerns, arrives penniless as a guest of his childhood chum Harry Lime, only to learn he has died. Martins develops a conspiracy theory after learning of a "third man" present at the time of Harry's death, running into interference from British officer Major Calloway, and falling head-over-heels for Harry's grief-stricken lover, Anna.

Top Billed Cast

  1. Cast 1

    Joseph Cotten

    Holly Martins

  2. Cast 1

    Alida Valli

    Anna Schmidt

  3. Cast 1

    Trevor Howard

    Major Calloway

  4. Cast 1

    Orson Welles

    Harry Lime

  5. Cast 1

    Paul Hörbiger

    Karl the Porter

  6. Cast 1

    Ernst Deutsch

    'Baron' Kurtz

  7. Cast 1

    Erich Ponto

    Dr. Winkel

  8. Cast 1

    Siegfried Breuer

    Popescu

  9. Cast 1

    Hedwig Bleibtreu

    Anna's Landlady

Holly Martens (Joseph Cotten) receives a job offer from his friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles) in postwar occupied Vienna. He arrives there only to find that Lime is dead and every witness has a different story. Being a pulp writer, Holly thinks he can solve the mystery. But this is a Graham Greene story, and the mystery is not just a whodunit but an exploration of evil. Tangling with a nihilistic band of black marketers exploiting the corruption and ruin of a great city after the war, Holly is told that he is in way over his head. The movie has many unusual touches. Expressionist ...