The Third Man (1949)

 Second viewing; previously viewed on June 12, 1990.

A writer comes to Vienna to meet a friend who had offered him a job. Upon arriving there, he hears that his friend died. A policeman reveals to him hat his friend had been a black marketeer. The writer is skeptical and decides to stay and investigate the matter.

Mystery thriller whose underlying theme is how the men who have the greatest probability to be loved are actually the worst; what makes them so loved is their talent for deceit and manipulation, and their lack of scruples at using that talent. So, it's ultimately a pessimistic film, but it chooses to tackle that story with humor and suspense, thus alleviating the bleakness somewhat. While it is a great film, I still had overrated it considerably. Sure, it has some striking imagery, a great score, an interesting story, and a thrilling narrative, but somehow it didn't produce the same intense effect on me this second time as it had done on the first one.

There is some mystery involving a line spoken by Lime (the one about the Borgia and Switzerland) which was a contribution by the actor himself. Wikipedia points to possible sources of that line, and I have provided a possible one myself some years ago.

Rating: 69 (down from 92)

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

**DON'T READ IT IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THE MOVIE**

The identity of the "third man" is never explicitly stated, but it seems obvious that it is supposed to be Harbin. It remains vague how the accident was staged, but surely that third man couldn't be Lime, as most commenters who broach the subject suggest, because the porter would have recognized him (and also the man being dragged as *not* Lime). According to those commenters, Harbin's body would have stood for Lime's. But placing that body on the street was a very risky operation; they would have to make sure that there weren't any witnesses when they did it. Otherwise, they would not only get caught for faking a death, but also for murder (of Harbin). And it would have been a stupid way to do it. The easier way would be for Lime to pretend he was dead and then to be whisked away. If they were caught in the act of doing it, no harm would come to anyone. All they would have to do is rejoice that Lime didn't suffer any harm from the "accident". Of course, Harbin was not to suspect that he would be murdered later.