The Third Man

Two women, sisters, in their fifties decided to go to a recently released movie. It was 1949. Tagging along was a seven year old boy, son of the younger sister. The movie was “The Third Man”, and this movie was an unforgettable moment for that boy. It would be the greatest movie that he would ever see, better even than “Citizen Cane” (1941).

It was a British production, filmed in post-war Vienna. The opening credits scrolled over a shot of the strings of a zither. It was a close in shot, no musician, no fingers, just the vibrating strings. The zither was a perfect musical instrument choice for the film’s score. You were constantly reminded by the music of where the film’s location was in Eastern Europe on the border with the menace of the Soviet Union.

 

The main actors were: Orson Wells, Joseph Cotton, and Trevor Howard, with Alida Valli in the female lead. The screen play was written by Graham Greene. Carol Reed was the director and Robert Krasker the cinematographer. The reason I mention Krasker was his supreme use of black and white film to enhance the story. I am not sure if it was Krasker or Reed who selected the shots but they were stunning. The use of light and shadow, all the scenes except three were shot at night enhancing the noir atmosphere. Faces illumined by shafts of light, the shadow of a running man projected on a blank building wall. Some of the shots were slightly askew. All the while the zither plays in the background setting the tone for the scenes.

A bit of history: After WWII Austria was divided into four zones corresponding to the four allies who defeated The Third Reich, Britain, France, the United States, and the Soviet Union. The capitol, Vienna, was administered jointly by the four powers. So you see police patrols with four officers, one for each of these powers. This arrangement lasted for only a few years until Austria regained its independence.

Post war Vienna lent it self to the proliferation of the “black-market” which dealt in all things that were hard to get and that was the background for the story, a story of love, betrayal, and mystery. Who was the third man>

 

A few scenes where etched into that seven year old boy: a chase through the sewers of Vienna, a huge Ferris Wheel with its cuckoo clock speech, faces illumined out of the shadows, a the scene of an old man selling balloons.

That boy returned over the years to see it again and again. He never has gotten tired of  this wonderful movie.