SMOKESCREEN | The Third Man (1949)

The Third Man is a film that embraces an expressionist cinematography, assisted by filming in the devastated landscape of post war Vienna, a landscape of rubble and bomb craters. A Noir film made by men who knew the devastation of war, the use of tilted camera angles, distorted faces and locations ‘suggest a world out of joint,’ as our protagonist Holly Martins (played by Joseph Cotten) desperately strives to unravel the mystery around his friend Harry Limes death in post war city full of treachery, and corruption. As reviewer Robert Egbert noted it was a film that embodied the disillusionment of post war Europe, ‘it was weary and knowing, it’s glorious style was an act of defiance against the corrupt world it pictures.’

Director: Carol Reed

Starring: Joseph Cotton, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, Trevor Howard

Run Time: 104mins

Rating: PG