British director Carol Reed won an Oscar for the 1968 film adaptation of Oliver! But for my money, I think if there’s a film for which he deserved to win it was The Third Man. (Reed did win the 1949 Palm D’Or for this noir classic).Written by Graham Greene, it’s an astounding cold war suspense thriller starring Joseph Cotten as hack American writer Holly Martins who arrives in Vienna to work for his childhood friend Harry Lime. Upon his arrival, he learns that Lime is dead. There’s something suspicious about the whole affair and Martins sets about getting to the bottom of the truth.
To say I love this movie would be an understatement. If I had to pick a favorite, this would probably be it. Reed’s direction is superlative; Robert Krasker won an Oscar for his master class in cinematography. Then there’s the musical score, which is one of the most unusual and most effective scores ever written for a film. Anton Karas (with whom I share a birthday) composed the theme using only the zither. The theme actually became a pop hit and was given a fair amount of radio play in the early 1950s.
This is one of those films that if I stumble upon it on TV, I watch it through to the end. It’s also the only film to make the AFI and BFI 100 movies of all time. If I was forced to pick a favorite film of all time, this would probably be it.
“What is your favorite film of all time?” (Spoilers ahead)
Not the easiest question to answer. When I’m asked, an immediate list pops up in my head and from Vertigo to Gone with the Wind and The Godfather. However, I’ve found that when asked that question there is one particular film that always pops into my head: Carol Reed’s 1949 The Third Manstarring Joseph Cotten. A certain Mr. Orson Welles took part in the film, providing the unique character called Harry Lime, who makes one of the most famous entrances in film history. Cotten, who is drunk, is calling out to an unseen figure in a dark doorway after midnight in Cold War Vienna, only to have a disgruntled neighbor throw open the shutters revealing his best friend, who was supposed to be dead, standing there with a casual smirk on his face. All underscored by Anton Karas’ famed zither.
I love the film; from beginning to end. Whenever it’s on I find myself stopping what I’m doing to watch it, and even upgraded from the first Criterion DVD release to their second more comprehensive 2-disc edition. It’s doubtful that Joseph Cotten was ever better (okay, Shadow of a Doubt perhaps…) as the rather innocent Holly Martins, a hack alcoholic writer who arrives in Vienna to join his best friend, only to discover he had died. Alida Valli played the woman in both their lives. Trevor Howard is the droll British MP officer who is out for the truth about Lime. The way the film is staged and shot, with Robert Krasker’s brilliant Oscar-winning cinematography, combined with the story and characters always manages to strike the right chord with me. The film was co-produced by David O. Selznick and British-based Alexander Korda, giving the film the unique distinction of being on both the AFI and BFI’s top 100 movies list, clocking in at #1 on the latter.
Welles was notoriously difficult on the set, often evading crew members and avoiding shooting on his own whims. When he refused to film in the Vienna sewers, only working in soundstages in London. Numerous doubles were used in location long shots, including the assistant director. In a scene where his hands were needed for an important show involving a sewer grate, Welles was nowhere to be found and director Reed’s hands were used instead. However, Welles greatest contribution to the entire film was in a scene toward the climax of the film on a ferris wheel for which he wrote his famous “cuckoo clock” monologue.
Actor Vincent D’Onofrio first played Orson Welles in a brief cameo appearance in Tim Burton’s biopic Ed Wood, though his voiced was dubbed by another actor. The actor later wrote and starred in this short film called Five Minutes, Mr. Welles, a tongue-in-cheek film noir homage to the famed auteur relayed the (fictionalized) moments leading up to the filming of his most famous scene in The Third Man. It unfolds rather like a small two person one-act play, with Janine Theriault playing his personal assistant. Have a look:
A place where I can rant and rave about theatre, theatre history, plus books, film and anything else that strikes me as entertaining, interesting or important. Feel free to chime in. If you'd like me to have a look at your show or have any interest in advertising, feel free to contact me. Membership director of the Independent Theater Bloggers Association.
