The Third Man (1949) is a British film noir directed by Carol Reed. The screenplay was written by novelist Graham Greene. Greene wrote a novella of the same name in preparation for the screenplay, and this was published in 1950.
The film won the 1949 Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, the British Academy Award for Best Film, and an Academy Award for Best Black and White Cinematography in 1950.
In 1999, the British Film Institute selected The Third Man as the best British film of the 20th century; five years later, the magazine Total Film ranked it fourth. The film also placed 57th on the American Film Institute's list of top American films, "100 Years... 100 Movies" in 1998, an accolade which is controversial because the film's only American connection was its executive co-producer, David O. Selznick; the other two, Sir Alexander Korda and Carol Reed, were British. In 2005, viewers of BBC Television's Newsnight Review voted the film their fourth favourite of all time; it was the only film in the top five made prior to 1970.
An out of work pulp fiction novelist, Holly Martins, arrives in a post war Vienna divided into sectors by the victorious allies, and where a shortage of supplies has lead to a flourishing black market. He arrives at the invitation of an ex-school friend, Harry Lime, who has offered him a job, only to discover that Lime has recently died in a peculiar traffic accident. From talking to Lime's friends and associates Martins soon notices that some of the stories are inconsistent, and determines to discover what really happened to Harry Lime. Written by Mark Thompson
An American pulp writer arrives in post-WWII Vienna only to find that the friend who waited for him is killed under mysterious circumstances. The ensuing mystery entangles him in his friend's involvement in the black market, with the multinational police, and with his Czech girlfriend. Written by Keith Loh
Holly Martins, scrittore canadese, si reca a Vienna alla fine della Seconda Guerra Mondiale, chiamato dal suo amico Harry Lime, per aiutarlo nelle sue iniziative umanitarie. Giunto a Vienna, lo scrittore apprende che Harry รจ morto e che, probabilmente, le sue iniziative non erano affatto umanitarie. Chi era realmente Harry Lime? Quale torbidi affari svolgeva? E' realmente morto? Un giorno Holly conosce Anna, la donna che ama Harry e quella sera...un gatto salta verso la strada; due scarpe nascoste nella notte; la cetra di Anton Karas; il raggio di luce di un lampione; un volto nel buio: Orson Welles, basta una apparizione a fare la Storia del Cinema! Written by rosebud6
