Hunted by men … Sought by WOMEN!|Aug. 31, 1949|United Kingdom|104 Min.|n/A
Genre: Mystery;Thriller
Description: Holly Martins, an American writer known for his western novels, arrives in Vienna after World War II. The city is divided among the Allies: the Americans, British, French, and Soviets. Martins is searching for his childhood friend, Harry Lime, who had promised him a job. Upon arrival, Martins learns that Lime was hit by a car and killed while crossing the street. At Lime’s funeral, Martins encounters two British Royal Military Police officers: Sergeant Paine, who admires Martins’s work, and Major Calloway, Paine’s superior. Martins is later invited by Mr. Crabbin to speak at a book club.
Martins meets “Baron” Kurtz, a friend of Lime’s, who claims he and another friend, Popescu, carried Lime to the side of the street after the accident. Before dying, Lime reportedly asked them to look after Martins and Anna Schmidt, Lime’s girlfriend. Martins visits Anna at the theater and begins to suspect that Lime’s death was not accidental. Anna shares details of the incident, including the presence of Lime’s doctor at the scene and the involvement of Lime’s own driver. Both Martins and Anna find the circumstances suspicious.
The porter at Lime’s apartment building contradicts Kurtz’s account, stating that three men, not two, carried Lime’s body. Martins and Anna later discover that the police are searching her apartment, where they find and confiscate a forged passport, leading to Anna’s detention. Martins visits Dr. Winkel, Lime’s medical adviser, who claims to have arrived after Lime’s death and insists only two men were present. The porter offers to provide Martins with more information but is murdered before they can speak. When Martins and Anna arrive at the scene, an angry crowd accuses Martins of involvement, but they manage to escape.
Cast director: Guy Hamilton
Cast actor: Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, Trevor Howard, Paul Hörbiger, Ernst Deutsch, Erich Ponto, Siegfried Breuer, Hedwig Bleibtreu, Bernard Lee
Original name: The Third Man