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The Third Man Movie Review

The Third Man is a 1949 noir film directed by Carol Reed and starring Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles. It’s a very interesting, but somewhat flawed noir.

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“A person doesn’t change just because you find out more“

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Novelist Holly arrives in Vienna at the invitation of his friend Harry only to learn that Harry has died. Unable to accept the inconsistent stories surrounding his death, he decides to probe the case. This is one of the most iconic noir movies and overall films from the forties. It’s regarded as the best British film ever made. While I respect it for everything that it did right, I still find it to be slightly disappointing and uneven.

I both admire and lament that this film has an original instead of adapted screenplay. I appreciated that they attempted to write a complex crime mystery tale, but they didn’t execute it properly and they left more than a couple of plot holes in the proceedings. The central friendship wasn’t fully believable and I never bought the protagonist chasing and eventually even attempting to kill his friend.

With that being said, there is still a lot to appreciate here. The film has a very strong atmosphere and tone that is conveyed effortlessly through incredible black-and-white cinematography. Some of the camera angles being tilted and distorted made for a very modern and unique-looking film that’s aged beautifully. You also have here a superb use of shadows to tell the story, resulting in that truly unforgettable sequence where Orson Welles first steps into the light. That moment singlehandedly made this movie iconic.

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The extended sewers sequence toward the end is also quite famous and very well executed. I did not find it to be fully believable due to the number of men chasing the guy being ridiculously high, but the sequence still worked as it was meticulously shot, propulsive and wildly entertaining. It ranks among the finest action sequences from this era.

The Third Man also benefits from superb acting performances across the board. This cast is excellent and I appreciated that they included some foreign actors to fit the Vienna setting so well, giving this movie a ‘Casablanca’ feel of international cast and intrigue. Alida Valli was very good and I liked her character, but she still felt a bit too superfluous to the plot. Trevor Howard was quite memorable in a smaller role and the movie interestingly included a potential gay couple in one sequence that was subtle, but effective.

Joseph Cotten remains one of the most underappreciated actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood and this movie is a proof of his great talents as a performer. He is charismatic and very memorable in such a well written and strong role. I loved his work here that ranks among his best. Orson Welles was in the film for just five minutes, but he left an indelible mark on it, which is a testament to his strengths as an actor. He was effectively devilish and mysterious.

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There is one aspect to this movie that I genuinely disliked and that is the score from Anton Karas. The film so beautifully utilized its amazing setting and it looked polished throughout. The pacing is also quite good with a strong build-up and an exciting third act. It’s so well made across the board that it was such a letdown to witness this upbeat, charming score that is more fitting for a road trip romance than a thriller.