Movie Review - The Third Man

The Third Man (1949)

Starring Joseph Cotten, Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard

Directed by Carol Reed

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

When Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) comes to Vienna to meet his good friend, Harry Lime (Orson Welles), he's shocked to discover that Lime has been accidentally killed after being hit by a truck.  After meeting Lime's girlfriend Anna (Valli), Holly is fairly certain that something is awry with the police investigation of Lime's death headed by military leader Major Calloway (Trevor Howard).  Needless to say, many secrets are uncovered, some of which people certainly wished to stay hidden.

Filled with gigantic shadows, darkened images, and sharp-tongued dialog, The Third Man undoubtedly has that film noir feel.  Director Carol Reed utilizes crooked camera angles (which were initially fun, but eventually off-putting) and puts his camera close to the action.  The film moves along at a brisk pace which is actually fairly surprising considering that the story for all its tinges of espionage and wrongdoing is actually pretty simple.

The film is certainly aided by three great actors.  As was noted by my fellow movie-watcher, I'm not sure Joseph Cotten has much of a range.  His demeanor and actions are very similar in this to his roles in Shadow of a Doubt, Citizen Kane, and The Magnificent Ambersons, but that's not a bad thing.  I like Cotten as an actor quite a bit.  In a lot of what he does, there's an everyman quality to him with a hint of nastiness underneath.  Orson Welles is hamming it up in this film, but every time he is onscreen, it brought a smile to me.  And it's nice to see that Trevor Howard, who I thought was utterly bland in Brief Encounter, show that it was the script that brought him down in that previous film rather than his acting capabilities.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+