In Search Of The Third Man

Mary Russell at the Irish Times takes a tour through Venna that retraces one of my favorite films, The Third Man.

The film The Third Man, made in 1948, only three years after WWll ended, shows the underbelly of this elegant city almost totally destroyed by Allied bombs, divided like Berlin and patrolled by the same Allied Forces, its postwar shortages making it a haven for black marketeers. Harry Lime, played by Orson Welles, is an American racketeer living in the Russian quarter where, our guide tells us, most of the criminals lived. Why? Because the Russians were easily bribed. Harry’s friend Holly Martins (Joseph Cotton) turns up to look for him and finally locates him, Harry’s hiding place betrayed by his loving cat.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/travel/2012/0414/1224314659446.html

Above is a photo of Orson Welles as the criminal Harry Lime in the film and below is a photo of the director of The Third Man, Carol Reed, and the writer of the film, Graham Greene.