Review: The Third Man (1949)

The Third Man was rated as the British Film Institute's Best British Film of the 20th century in its 1999 Survey. Does the film still merit that ranking?

With a screenplay written by Graham Greene, an author who makes practically every list of the greatest ever espionage writers, it certainly has the credentials to make it worthy of consideration as one of the finest spy thrillers ever made. But is it even a spy story?

The Journal of Austrian-American History published a Research Article in December 2020 entitled 'The Spy Story Behind The Third Man' in which it is argued that, whilst the film's subject matter isn't espionage-related, its Cold War setting and inspirations are certainly those of a spy story. Apparently, the character of Harry Lime was based upon Kim Philby, with whom Graham Greene was acquainted, one of Greene's assistants was Elizabeth Montagu, a former wartime operative for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS, forerunner to the CIA), whilst Alexander Korda, the film's producer, travelled repeatedly during the war for British intelligence. Clearly, even if the film is not centred on spying, its origins and 'DNA' are those of an espionage film.

Turning to the film itself, it features many factors which provide compelling arguments for greatness; an iconic soundtrack, a 'damsel in distress' who unexpectedly reveals hidden depths, atmospheric post-war locations and a cast of British heavyweights including a young Bernard Lee (who would go on to be familiar as James Bond's boss and father-figure 'M'), America's 1980's 'Rent-A-Brit', Wilfred Hyde-White, and the man who played the stiffest of stiff upper-lipped Brits in 'Brief Encounter' (itself a candidate for greatest British film), Trevor Howard.

And this case has been made without mentioning the co-author (along with Herman J. Mankiewicz), lead actor and director of what has often been described as the greatest film ever made, 'Citizen Kane': Orson Welles. More a force of nature than a mere actor, although reputedly very demanding, Welles was rumoured to have refused to continue filming in the sewers of Vienna, requiring a full-scale set to be created in London to accommodate his demands, but, these matters aside, the crucial issue is whether Welles' undeniable talent made it onto the screen in this film.

So, with all these promising indications, what is the film actually like? The sense of isolation, deprivation and desperation resulting from wartime is reminiscent of 'Casablanca' (or even, on occasion, the cantina scene in 'Star Wars: A New Hope') but lacks the atmosphere of fear underlying everything happening in French Morocco with its looming threat of Nazi brutality. I didn't observe any differentiation between the various national sectors of Vienna, but simply gathered a sense that Vienna was an entirely British protectorate.

The pretext on which the film is based (an American travels to Vienna where his friend has promised him work only to find that the friend has just been killed, apparently in an accident) is intriguing enough to draw in the casual viewer, offering the potential for complexity, intrigue, action and shady characters to emerge. Unfortunately, in most of these areas, the film simply fails to deliver. There are characters who are reminiscent of the inhabitants of Rick's Bar yet are insufficiently 'fleshed out', coming over as two-dimensional or even, in some cases, as pantomime villains. Lime's girlfriend, whilst lacking a fully explored character (with no criticism of the actor, Alida Valli, implied), does, at least, show herself to be more than a needy victim, although she repeatedly suffers paternalism from the male contingent.

The film is carried by the competent Joseph Cotton, leaving Harry Lime (Welles) as absent from or peripheral to most of the plot's progress and I was left wondering why the film is so closely associated with Orson Welles when he is really a supporting actor rather than a leading man. When on-screen Welles does deliver a solid performance but lacks sufficient screen time. His 'famous' improvisation of the 'Cuckoo Clock' line seems trivial, although his crucial sewer scene does deliver moments of drama. Overall, the plot and atmosphere stand up reasonably well, but the film is desperately lacking in pace, unconvincing for long periods and ultimately frustrating. Perhaps, in 1949, the film did cut new ground, but the works of LeCarré, Deighton, Ludlum and so many others since leave 'The Third Man' looking tired and dated 75 years on.