The Third Man (1949)

7.9/10 105 min Thriller Mystery

Overview

In postwar Vienna, Austria, Holly Martins, a writer of pulp Westerns, arrives penniless as a guest of his childhood chum Harry Lime, only to learn he has died. Martins develops a conspiracy theory after learning of a "third man" present at the time of Harry's death, running into interference from British officer Major Calloway, and falling head-over-heels for Harry's grief-stricken lover, Anna.

Cast

Joseph Cotten

Holly Martins

Alida Valli

Anna Schmidt

Trevor Howard

Major Calloway

Orson Welles

Harry Lime

Paul Hörbiger

Karl the Porter

Ernst Deutsch

'Baron' Kurtz

Erich Ponto

Dr. Winkel

Siegfried Breuer

Popescu

Hedwig Bleibtreu

Anna's Landlady

Bernard Lee

Sergeant Paine

Wilfrid Hyde-White

Crabbin

Eric Pohlmann

Waiter at Smolka's (uncredited)

Carol Reed

UK Version's Opening Narrator (uncredited)

Annie Rosar

The Porter's Wife (uncredited)

Recommendations

The Bourne Supremacy
Murder on the Orient Express
Ten Little Indians
The Mask of Dimitrios
Murder at the Embassy
The Lady Vanishes
The Bourne Ultimatum
Valkyrie
Sherlock Holmes
The Odessa File
Spectre
Inferno
The Bourne Identity
See How They Run
Murder on the Orient Express
You Only Live Twice
The Saint
Charade
Night Train to Lisbon
The Man Who Knew Too Much