Control of Dramatic Expression in the Third Man

Control of Dramatic Expression in The Third Man

With its cliché' use of shadows, understated story line and melodrama, The Third Man is an exceptional case of all the Noir film genre represents. The plot revolves around out of work mash fiction writer, Holly Martins, in Vienna to meet up with his old friend Harry Lime. When Holly arrives, he discovers that Harry has been rundown in the streets and his body was carried away from the scene. When Holly begins trying to piece together the incident he discovers that something bizarre is happening in Vienna. The stories don't match up and the witnesses Holly speaks with give conflicting accounts of the accident. He decides to find what truly happened to Harry Lime.

The film's cast is headlined by the incomparable Orson Welles as Holly's friend Harry Lime. Alida Valli plays Holly's love interest and Harry's former girlfriend, Anna Schmidt. The film was directed by Carol Reed and written by Graham Greene whose sharp dialogue provides poignancies and urgency to the film. Mood is achieved, among other methods, through Robert Krasker's sensational use of Light and shadow. Systems utilized include sound, lighting, distinct camera angles and motion. The use of sound was particularly prevalent in its ability to extend claustrophobia and illicit bewilderment in the viewer. Distinctive sounds used to this effect are for example running water, echoing/distorted voices, running steps and frequent shifts between German and English dialogue.

At first “The sound is chipper yet without happiness-- the activity starts like an undergrad songbird and after that uncovers awful suggestions.” (Ebert Par. 1) Inside the passage, steady amounts of falling water encompass the scene, overriding the commotion of the scene. It is at once a backdrop and an element. Echoes in the tight spaces are used frequently to inspire claustrophobia. They are trapped by their own voices and those of others. The confusion found in the reverberating noises is more troublesome than the situation itself. Harry, as he flees form the police, is forced to struggle with the distinction of voices, echoing footsteps and water crashing all around him. With the addition of German dialogue outside of the sewers and English dialogue within, any average viewer would find themselves disoriented in an otherwise basic series of events.

The director employs the use of crooked camera angles to suggest something not quite right. “More shots, I think, are tilted than are held straight.” (Ebert Par. 5) Throughout the film we see numerous characters in tight spaces. The camera centers in and makes everything appear claustrophobic. “A response shot however not shot of what is being responded to.” (Philip Fig 5.11) At Lime's home, the doorman sets up a meeting with Holly's character for later that night. The watchman turns as he presumably sees somebody behind him. Another is the element of “Rehashed response shots however, no shots of what is being responded to.” (Philip Fig 5.12) that complement the claustrophobic impact. The suspense provided by searching for a cast of characters throughout the film adds to this dramatic effect.

Frequent scenes involving large numbers of people in small spaces further compounds the sense of tightness. Filmed on location in Vienna as well as studios in England from October through December 1948. The Third Man highlights performances by Alida Valli and Trevor Howard. Film critic Michael Wilmington wrote “This Vienna is a motion picture milieu as thickly

suggestive and eerie as Curtiz' Casablanca or Sternberg's Morocco - yet, not normal for them, it is principally genuine Vienna, the genuine roads, the genuine rubble.” (Par 1) The film was released in the UK in August of 1949 and February of 1950 in the United States. The film's monologues were very distinctive. Reed orated for the British Variant and Cotton provided the American adaptation which was eleven minutes shorter than the British version., “This was the one-time Reed, as an executive, achieved flawlessness; and he did it much by amassing and marshaling a splendidly gifted organization as by the force of his own vision.” (Wilmington Par. 3) The picture did exceptionally well, both fundamentally and by economic standards. It was acknowledged by numerous critics over time as a perfect work of art.

As the name noir suggests, lighting plays a pivotal role in the settings of scene, the maintaining of mood and the persistence of confusion/claustrophobia throughout. To begin with, artificial light if being used in abundance using