Nov 21st
The Third Man*** (PG)
Burg Kino, Vienna+

GB 1949. London Films/Alexander Korda/David O. Selznick. 104m. bw

In post-war Vienna an American writer arrives to visit his friend Harry Lime, who has been killed in an accident....or has he?
Marvellous intrigue thriller in which everyone is viewed with an air of suspicion, one of the best British films of its kind ever made, although it also bears a strong hallmark of influential American talents who are very well used. The technique threatens to swamp the story, but the quality of the author keeps things well above water, and the evocative zither music captures the atmosphere of black market Vienna in brilliant if idiosyncratic style.

Written by: Graham Greene.
Producer/Director: Carol Reed.
Starring: Joseph Cotten, Orson Welles, Trevor Howard, Alida Valli, Bernard Lee, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Siegfried Breuer, Ernst Deutsch, Erich Ponto, Paul Hoerbiger, Hedwig Bleibtrau, Geoffrey Keen.
Photography: Robert Krasker.
Music: Anton Karas.

+ the version shown at the Burg Kino (every week) is an English language print, with no German subtitles.

++ tourists can also do The Third Man Tour in Vienna which visits most of the locations - including the sewers used for the film's memorable climax.

100 Favourite Films: The Third Man