Review of The Third Man (1949) by John B — 05 May 2014

It's hard not to give 100% to a flawless movie. The only thing about the tale that feels vaguely untrue is the love story beween Holly Martin (Joseph Cotten) and Anne Schmidt (Alida Valli), and even that may be part of the circular irony in Graham Greene's tale. Anne doesn't have any romantic interest in Holly, but he falls in love almost from the start, and this one sided crush could have been given more foundation.

So much has already been said, so I'll just mention one of my favorite scenes. When Holly gets in the car with an unknown driver and before he can say where he wants to go the man tears off like Cruella de Ville. Holly feels he is being kidnapped. Strangers faces watch from their nooks at various points in post war Vienna each reacting as if the grim reaper himself is driving that vehicle. When the car stops Holly begins to look for escape, but realizes he has been taken to a place where he is expected to speak as a writer, and he's late. Somehow this interlude cradled between the darker aspects of the movie was a well placed gag, another piece of cheese on the labyrinth.

The camera work, the shadows and I won't go down the whole list, but it's all vivid and poetic in only the best ways. It has zither music. The third man, the man in the shadow of the entranceway will be revealed. It begins and ends at the same cemetery, a full circle and all points exposed, but our hero remains alone, the girl prefers the rogue to the gallant. I'm not sure of the irony here, but this parting of lonely souls does feel true to the project and though they pass both at the beginning and end of the picture on that empty surreal road from the funeral they are worlds apart, separated by the thing that brought them together.