Principal cast
Joseph Cotten as Holly Martins, Alida Valli as Anna Schmidt, Trevor Howard as Major Calloway, Orson Welles as Harry Lime, and Paul Hörbiger as Karl the Porter
Film 57 of 244 on the Screen Path
The Third Man
Hunted by men ... Sought by WOMEN!
About the film
The Third Man at a glance.
Screen Path places this 1949 film at stop 57 in one curated journey through cinema. The learning experience adds context before you watch and deeper analysis after.
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.
Key craft credits
Robert Krasker (director of photography), Oswald Hafenrichter (editor), Anton Karas (original music composer), and Graham Greene (screenplay)
- Director
- Carol Reed
- Release
- 1949-08-31
- Runtime
- 105 minutes
- Genres
- Thriller and Mystery
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Quiz
- 50 questions
The Screen Path journey
Before. After. Remember.
The featured film is watched outside Screen Path. The app provides the learning experience around it: a guide, an analysis, and a quiz with explanations.
01
Before you watch
Start with a spoiler-free video guide to the context and filmmaking choices worth noticing.
Spoiler-free02
After the film
Return after watching for a deeper video analysis of craft, meaning, and legacy.
Contains spoilers03
Quiz yourself
Answer 50 questions with clear rationales designed to make the ideas stick.
50 questions in this journeyWant to try a complete journey on the web? The Citizen Kane page includes the spoiler-free guide, after-film analysis, and a sample quiz.
Try Citizen Kane →Film data and images provided by TMDB. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.