The Third Man

Graham Greene's account of post-war Vienna is one of the great stories in all of film. Joseph Cotton plays Holly Martins, an American writer of cheap dime-novel westerns who has come to post-war Vienna at the behest of his friend Harry Lime. Not long after Holly steps off the train does he find out that Harry has recently died in a traffic accident! Holly, ever the romantic, takes it upon himself to investigate his friend's death, which he suspects might not have been an accident and to discover the identity of the mysterious "third man" who was at the scene. To say more of the plot would be a crime. The change in Holly Martins from hopeless romantic to cynic (the last shot says it all) is one of the most interesting transformations in all of film. A beautifully made picture full of fantastic performances by Cotton, Welles, Valli (as Lime's girlfriend) and Trevor Howard as a British Major also investigating Harry's death. The manic zither score by Anton Karas, the incredible viennese location shooting and the brilliant script full of unforgettable lines help make this into a masterwork -- to say nothing of Carol Reed's flawless direction.

Oscar for Best Cinematography: Robert Krasker