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.
Cinematography
Dutch angles and sewer shadows that invented the look of noir.
Score
That zither. You'll hum it for weeks, then hate yourself.
Acting
Welles' Ferris wheel speech: cinema's greatest villain entrance.
Director
Carol Reed
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The sewer scenes were filmed in actual Vienna sewers; the stench was so bad that crew members passed out. Welles refused to film there after one day.
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