The Third Man (1949)
96%RT Audience Score: 93%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
5 wins & 4 nominations total
This atmospheric thriller is one of the undisputed masterpieces of cinema, and boasts iconic performances from Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles.
This movie is the bomb! It’s got all the thrills and chills you could ever want, and the acting is off the charts. Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles are total legends in this flick. You won’t be able to take your eyes off the screen. Trust me, this is one of those movies that you’ll be talking about for years to come.
Production Company(ies)
London Film Productions,
Distributor
Selznick International Pictures, Warner Home Vídeo, British Lion Films Ltd., Vintage Video, Spiegel Media GmbH.
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
8 Schreyvogelgasse, Vienna, Austria
MPAA / Certificate
Approved
Year of Release
1949
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.37 : 1
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Runtime:1h 44m
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Language(s):English, German, Russian, French
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Feb 1, 1949 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 28, 2008
Genre(s)
Mystery & thriller
Keyword(s)
The Third Man, Mystery & Thriller, Joseph Cotten, Orson Welles, directed by Carol Reed, written by Graham Greene, Alexander Korda, produced by Alexander Korda, Carol Reed, David O Selznick, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Ed Potton, Mark Feeney, Moira MacDonald, Michael Phillips, David Jenkins, Andrew O’Hehir, Cole Smithey, Brian Eggert, MPAA rating, Alexander Korda, Graham Greene, Alida Valli, Trevor Howard, Paul Hoerbiger, Ernst Deutsch, Continental Home Vídeo [br], Selznick International Pictures, Warner Home Vídeo, British Lion Films Ltd., Vintage Video, Spiegel Media GmbH, Mono, Flat (1.37:1), postwar Vienna, Austria, Holly Martins, pulp Westerns, Harry Lime, conspiracy theory, British officer Maj Calloway, Anna Schmidt, critic reviews, audience score, mystery, thriller, Feb 1, 1949 Wide, Oct 28, 2008, $447.0K, 1h 44m
Worldwide gross: $1,226,797
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $17,509,982
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,759
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,909,486
US/Canada gross: $1,067,364
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $15,234,407
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,491
US/Canada opening weekend: $13,576
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $193,769
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,676
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Joseph Cotten – Holly Martins
Trevor Howard – Major Calloway
Alida Valli – Anna Schmidt
Paul Hoerbiger – Porter
Ernst Deutsch – “Baron” Kurtz
Director(s)
Carol Reed
Writer(s)
Graham Greene, Alexander Korda, Graham Greene
Producer(s)
Alexander Korda, Carol Reed, David O. Selznick
Film Festivals
Cannes
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
5 wins & 4 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (87) | Top Critics (28) | Fresh (86) | Rotten (1)
Seventy years on such sombreness seems timely, as does Harry Lime, Welles’s deliciously elusive antihero.
September 8, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
Ed Potton
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Krasker’s camera reveals a dank, matte, defeated city – so dully vivid as to be a character unto itself – except that this Vienna becomes something altogether different seen at night or underground.
August 6, 2015 | Rating: 4/4
Mark Feeney
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
Reed and screenwriter Graham Greene let the story unfold slowly and deliberately, like the cigarette smoke that floats around the characters, and keep us guessing at every step.
July 2, 2015 | Rating: 4/4
Moira MacDonald
Seattle Times
TOP CRITIC
Like many, I have loved this thriller of conscience and betrayal most of my moviegoing life.
July 2, 2015 | Rating: 4/4
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
This is a film which does away with such cretinous inanity as offering up goodies and baddies, instead presenting its cast of characters as doing things which they believe to be good, but are not seen as such through the eyes of observers.
June 26, 2015 | Rating: 5/5
David Jenkins
Little White Lies
TOP CRITIC
“The Third Man” is important not just because of its technique but because of its theme …
June 26, 2015
Andrew O’Hehir
Salon.com
TOP CRITIC
has one of the greatest chase sequences ever filmed and it doesnt involve cars.
April 23, 2022 | Rating: A+
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
Reed remains the picture’s greatest asset, even if he is not the first name that comes to mind when remembering The Third Man.
March 21, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
Welles’ Harry Lime looms over the narrative just as the shadow of World War II looms over the film’s post-war Vienna.
December 12, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Matt Neal
Movies Ate My Life
It’s often described as the best British-produced film ever made, and that’s … an understatement, as it’s an easy addition to any … list of the top 10 movies of all time.
November 29, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Cameron Meier
MeierMovies.com
Iconic.
September 8, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Michael J. Casey
Michael J. Cinema
It isn’t a particularly challenging film but it is entertaining, it moves at a quick pace, and the mystery at the heart of it is fun to try and piece together.
March 24, 2021
Sarah Brinks
Battleship Pretension…
Plot
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 led 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.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Orson Welles’ performance as Harry Lime is described as “absolutely brilliant” and his character as a “deliciously elusive antihero.”
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