*WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD*
Carol Reed's The Third Man (1949) follows fiction writer Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) who flies to Post-war-torn Vienna to work for his long-time friend, Harry Lime (Orson Welles), only to discovers that Lime has died in a car accident. Curious about the incident, Holly interviews Harry's friends who were all curiously there when the accident took place. They all speak of two people dragging Harry's body off the street, except for the maintenance man, who claims that there was a third man and that Harry was still alive when someone took him off the road. At Harry's funeral, Holly meets Anna Schmidt (Alida Valli), Harry's lover. With her help, Holly tries to seek out the third man's identity, only to find that it was Harry himself and that he was still alive. Caught up in the racketeering business, Harry fakes his death, but with the four occupying police forces' assistance, Holly brings Harry to justice and put the right man in his coffin.
This film contained many layers and was visually intriguing enough to keep me focused on it the whole time. While there were occasional moments of silence, the film continued to draw me back in. For media scholars and film enthusiasts, I would highly recommend watching this film. However, for significant audiences of today, I find that many might doze off due to the lack of explosions. Hopefully, the old-timey lingo will at least keep them laughing.
If one is interested in peeking into the film noir genre, this is a great place to start. Analyzing this film, one would notice Dutch angles on the doorways and the focus on specific shots. Reed's usage of lighting draws the viewers' attention with stunning visuals.
Beautifully put together with a cast featuring Orson Welles (for the short duration he was in the picture), one knows this film has to be good. The picture also gives you a sense of closure. Unlike many of the films today, there's nothing left open to create a The Third Man two. The film ends as it begins. With Harry Lime dead and everyone going their separate ways. I'm sure it's also not coincidental how the ending scene at Harry's actual funeral ends the same way as Harry's first funeral as well.
This film doesn't leave you wanting more. It gives you exactly what you need through the essential parts of a film: romance, action, comedy, twists, and turns. It's no wonder it received 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. On my rating chart, it's no different. I give it 5/5 mobSTARS
