The Third Man

The Third Man (1949): starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles
American Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten), writer of westerns and crime novels, is invited to come work in Vienna by Harry Lime (Orson Welles), an old friend. When he gets to Vienna, he is shocked to learn Harry is dead. The police claim it was by accident, but Martins suspects it was murder, and he begins his own private investigation. Everyone he talks to seems to know more about the situation than they let on, including Harry's girlfriend Anna (Valli) and Major Calloway (Trevor Howard). Director Carol Reed's vision of post-war Vienna is one of chaos: four separate countries share in the policing of the city, yet all the citizens speak german. This leads to frustrating failures in communication. Also, the plot, or more specifically, the script seems overly complicated (even while the end is telegraphed almost from the beginning). All this leads to a movie that is sometimes difficult to follow. On the plus side, the cinematography is outstanding. The camera makes special use of the shadows cast by the bombed out buildings and the general junk left over after the war. There is chase through the sewers near the end of the film that is a showcase of it's technique, and the closing shot is especially beautiful. A great soundtrack complements alot of the scenes, but sometimes its incongruous in the heavier scenes' context. Technically, visually stunning, but it lacks something in the story. Good film noir, though.
***1/2 out of *****