gottdeskinos As a film-noir fan I though to myself this might be one of the best settings: Post-war Vienna with bombed buildings, a multinational police force by the occupying countries, investigation on black market dealings, foreign languages and accents all around. The main actor: an American who doesn't speak German, who learns his friend died in a mysterious accident. But sadly they failed to use this setting and the premise to create suspense for almost the entire movie. It's not the cinematography's fault, which is excellent: Long shadows on Vienna's places while people are being chased. Hm, but something seems off about it. They thought let's put it in traditional Austrian music for the soundtrack, well, because it's Vienna. But this is the kind of cheerful music that fits when you're strolling through the streets in bright daylight with a smile on your face and a lady in your arms. It certainly is the wrong choice for a supposedly suspenseful foot chase. Or when you surprisingly see your presumed dead friend across the street. Or while you're in a children's hospital. Or when people are digging at a graveyard at night and reveal who the "third man" was. It kills all mood in a black and white thriller and becomes almost absurdly comical. I guess they felt eager to try out new things. Thank god they dropped it when Orson Welles showed up and they talked eye to eye on the Ferris wheel. Great acting. Another great scene was the chase in the sewer. This redeemed the movie a bit. But after thinking about it I noticed there are plot holes. The soundtrack achieved at least one thing: it distracted me enough to not think about the plot too much.

Anssi Vartiainen An example from the classic era of film noir. Director Carol Reed introduces us to post-war Vienna filled with harsh angles, Gothic shadows, lonely streets and gleaming streetlamps. Pulp novelist Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) arrives to the city looking for a job his good friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles) has promised him. Immediately upon arrival he finds out that Lime has been run over by a car. Police think it a simple accident, but Martins has other ideas.Reed is a known expressionist and this shows heavily in the film. Dutch angles fill almost every shot and a lot of time is given for the buildup and the atmosphere of the city. And the film is to be praised for this. Many of the shots seem eerily familiar to the viewer. Not because you've seen the film but because so many later directors and cinematographers have been influenced by it. The shot of Lime's shadow looming against a wall as he slowly approaches is a fine, fine piece of film making and the most iconic the film has.Eerily familiar also describes the story to a tee, but in this case that is not a compliment. The plot is fairly easy to predict, despite of it containing some pretty clever twists. I can only imagine how revolutionary a film such as this one must have seemed like back on its day. But now, as someone who has watched so many other similar films... Well, it honestly makes the film something of a bore. I can appreciate it visually and the actors are extremely talented, but the story didn't leave me with much.And this is honestly the problem with a lot of mid-century films. At least for yours truly. There is something to be said about being one of the first to do something. But if that thing continues to be done better and better throughout the years, is it okay, at some point, to let the first examples go. Am I doing this film and others like it a disservice by not having seen them earlier when I would have been more able to appreciate them?Perhaps. Or perhaps history and time march on, like they always do. Nevertheless, it's a fine film. Very well made, very well acted. And the story is a good one. The fact that it has been made again so many times since then is a testament to that.

Ian (Flash Review)Great dark and gritty cinematography take center stage in this classic Film Noir. Laced with tilted cinematography, it helps to accentuate the shady story of who's telling the truth or not. The plot is a little hard to follow in portions but a novelist arrives in Vienna, Italy to meet up with a friend, who upon his arrival learns has been murdered. The novelist decides to do his own sleuthing to find out what really happened. Orson Welles is great as usual; such a distinctive voice. There are many shadowy shots of Vienna at night including a full exploration their sewer system. Haha. This film had one of the best main character reveals I've ever seen. Main character reveals are usually very stylish and intelligent so you know that character is important. The music score started off very fitting to the location but became overly redundant and distracting at points.

Lavnish Kumar Sharma Holly Martins a novelist comes to visit one of his friend Harry Lime, but later founds out that his friend died on that day only. Holly comes to know that no strangers were there when Harry Died in accident, which creates a doubt in his mind that whether it was an accident or a murder? From the Harry's porter he comes to know that there was a "third man", who was he? is the question Holly seeks in the movie. Later on some events unfolds in such a way forcing Holly to change his mind toward Harry. The movie is set up during the post war period, opening shots shows Vienna which has been destructed by the war. The most amazing thing about the movie is the camera work and the editing. The movie is of 1949, and by this it can be said that during that point of time people would have loved it, as the plot is so intriguing that you cannot leave your seat for once. Last but not the least the character of Anna Schmidt will make you love her more and more.