Reflections
on “The Third Man”
Written
by Graham Greene
Directed
by Carol Reed
Starring
Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Trevor Howard and Orson Welles
A video presentation of this material is available here.
Post-war Vienna can be
seen as something of a metaphor for battered and exhausted Europe shortly after
WW2. While much remains intact, there is plenty of evidence of the Nazi-led
conflict which plunged Europe and half the world into physical, emotional and
moral turmoil.
Judged to be one of the
first victims of Nazi expansionism, after the war Austria was declared an
independent nation but was occupied by forces from the United States, Russia,
the U.K. and France in order to rebuild the nation but also, presumably, to
enforce rule of law and to protect against a Nazi resurgence. This was an area
where political, social and moral systems had been undermined or even destroyed
and the potential for humanitarian crisis, crime and corruption was readily
recognised. The international character of this operation serves to underscore
the potential universal nature of the themes touched upon, while linguistic problems
emphasise the importance of communication and understanding.
It is against this
background of existential crisis, pain, disillusionment, loss, distrust and
confusion that pulp Western writer Holly Martins investigates the sudden death
of his good friend Harry Lime. On the face of it this is a fairly
straightforward matter but Holly’s dogged determination and persistent
questioning bring him in contact with a series of dubious characters whose
contradictory evidence and suspect accounts eventually lead to the revelation
of truth and then to unexpected consequences.
Holly encounters several
of Harry’s Austrian friends and acquaintances and while each has his own
reasons for being involved with Harry, his schemes and his death, they all
share a variety of characteristics. They all give the impression they are
giving a false or incomplete account of themselves, may be involved in some
chicanery, seem untrustworthy while trying to ingratiate themselves and seem to
have little or no respect for truth or morality. They may be viewed as amoral
pawns willing to participate in schemes that will benefit them without regard
for others and it has been implied that Harry Lime was a master of such
practices.
Other citizens, onlookers
rather than participants, are keen not to involve themselves in the affairs of
others. Having undergone years of dictatorship and moral, physical and political
threat, they are reduced to adapting to whatever circumstance will best ensure
their survival.
Major Calloway and
Sergeant Paine represent authority, law and order. They, along with their
international counterparts, enforce regulations. While they may appear
officious, cold, inflexible and uncaring at times, we discover the fundamental
purpose and humanity of their work as they try to protect against tragedy and
defend the inhabitants of Vienna from scheming black-marketeers willing to put
people’s health and lives in danger in order to make a quick and substantial
profit.
It is interesting to note
that religion plays no part in this affirmation of order, apart from nuns
caring for sick children. Clearly thought out rules and regulations, based on
fairness and fact, are to be applied assiduously in order to combat potential
crime, corruption and unfairness.
Anna, Harry Lime’s
staunchly supportive friend and lover, must have known duplicity, disillusionment
and fear during the war years, but she has opted to be almost simplistically
and insistently idealistic in terms of love, at least as far as Harry Lime is
concerned. Her idolising love for Harry remains virtually unaltered even when
she seems to accept evidence of his wrongdoing – she affirms that because she
loved him in the past, she can and will do him no harm. At one point she even
suggests that a person does not change just because you learn more about him or
her. She appears to cling to this idealistic and blinkered form of love because
she needs to believe in something positive, but surely this begs questions as
to the validity and worth of such love or infatuation. It is worth noting that
she is an actress by profession and she refuses to play tragedy. Is she trying
to exercise control and avoid reality and pain by clinging to hope and making
Harry a repository for her love?
Such complete and resolute
devotion to love and idealism is surely indicative of denial and can lead to
harm to both oneself and to others. She even turns against Holly when he
eventually yields and agrees to aid the authorities in the capture of Lime,
accusing him of base deceit and betrayal despite ample evidence of Lime’s
crimes and selfish conduct. To carry devotion to this level is surely self-deceiving
lunacy.
Much is made of the fact
that Holly Martins is a pulp Western writer. Unlike actress Anna who attempts
to control her own response to events and people, Holly is a writer who tries
to understand and steer events and others’ perceptions. The fact he writes
Western fare may reflect his core values.
In keeping with cowboy
tradition, he may appear somewhat guileless at times – he falls for Anna almost
instantly, is loud, brash, unruly and has a somewhat breezy approach initially,
suggesting self-confidence and a certain lack of understanding and compassion
for the time and place in which he finds himself. He shows loyalty and devotion
toward his friend and cannot accept the authorities’ version of Harry’s motives
and activities so he sets out to investigate the circumstances of his death,
which he finds suspicious, in the hope of clearing his name. He is
unpretentious, principled and honourable, if inexperienced and perhaps naïve
and idealistic.
Eventually, Holly meets with
Harry and Harry confirms the truth of the authorities’ accusations. Rather like
Anna, Holly reluctantly accepts his friend’s guilt but will not take action
against him until he is forced to confront the consequences of Lime’s latest
money-making enterprise when he is shown the victims of Lime’s selling of
diluted penicillin. He has also learned to act less like a principled cowboy
and more like an astute participant in this game of life by setting a price for
his involvement in Lime’s apprehension – Anna’s freedom to leave Vienna. Of
course, this he does out of love and principle rather than for selfish reasons,
though he clearly feels Lime is no longer worthy of his loyalty. That said, he
agrees to act merely as bait and not to participate in his capture.
Reality and truth finally
win out over brotherly love, devotion and idealism as Holly takes decisive
action to stop Harry, with Harry’s shooting of Paine being the final straw.
Holly acts out of humanity and disillusionment. He is visibly shaken, perturbed
and upset but he has evolved as a human being. He has learned to respect doubt
and truth above love and friendship, and that there comes a time when decisive
action must be taken.
He is undoubtedly
disillusioned in the end but is perhaps more fulfilled and complete. Of course,
he will also learn that not everyone shares his newfound and hard-won outlook
on life as Anna walks past him (and away from her own past) without a flicker
of recognition, once again exercising control and demonstrating her continued commitment
to blinkered love.
Before we meet him, we
hear a great deal about Harry Lime, both good and bad, from a variety of
characters, reflecting different aspects of Lime’s character and different
perceptions of him. We see him for the first time more than halfway through the
film and by that time we are thoroughly intrigued – is he the boyish extrovert,
the faithful and jovial friend or the master criminal we have heard about?
The answer is that he is
all of these things and more.
When Harry meets Holly at
the Ferris Wheel, he exudes self-assurance and oozes charm, casually ignoring
Holly’s questions and asking questions of his own. He takes control. He
displays a disarming openness and self-belief that is persuasive and
manipulative, leaving the audience quite breathless and charmed while he
casually tries to convince Holly of his case…..
As he looks down (both
physically and figuratively) at the “dots” of people scrambling around below
their carriage, Harry suggests that the loss of a handful of humans is
insignificant in the grand scheme of things and he clearly feels no remorse or
sense of responsibility in making use of these “dots”, even indirectly causing
their deaths, in order to benefit him financially.
With these outrageous
affirmations pronounced with casual conviction, Harry reveals himself to be something
of an existential thinker. He has reached the conclusion morality and order do
not exist but has such an ego that he seems to regard others as his playthings
and has lost all sense of humanity, if he ever had one.
He shows no regard or
genuine feeling for his lover Anna whom he clearly charmed and manipulated and
is now using as a pawn vis-à-vis the Russian authorities to ensure his own
escape. Holly recalls incidents from their youth which he presumably found
amusing at the time but which he now sees differently, realising they revealed
selfishness and callousness in Harry. Unlike Anna, Holly does see a person differently
the more you learn about him or her.
It appears, then, that
Harry has always harboured such feelings of humanitarian indifference and moral
disorientation but presumably these have been enhanced by his wartime
experiences. He is, however, a cynical hypocrite willing to manipulate and take
advantage of those who believe in love, friendship, humanity, justice and
freedom. His brilliant speech about the Borgias producing misery, murder and
bloodshed but also genius while peace-loving Switzerland merely produced the
cuckoo-clock is his final attempt to justify his stance and persuade his pal
Holly to join him. This speech underlines his charm and eloquence as well as revealing
his nihilistic mindset.
Harry Lime is a warning.
He represents what man can become if he is selfish and has no respect for
others and values. Love and idealism may have taken a battering and man may
have been led to question the existence of God and morality in the course of
the war, but the same experiences gave rise to fighting for values, defending
truth and showing humanity toward others.
“The Third Man” is
frequently referred to as a film noir. While it clearly depicts the
consequences of amoral actions and motivation and warns against the result of
excesses in love and loyalty, it also establishes the principles of humanity
and integrity which lead to Harry’s downfall and which offer hope for the
future.
Director Carol Reed
creates a tremendously noirish atmosphere. While darkness is used to convey lack
of clarity and confusion, and is used ever more regularly as Holly becomes more
deeply embroiled in the plot, light is used to accentuate understanding and
clarity and is used to its greatest effect when Harry is revealed to us for the
first time – the revelatory light offering a chink of comprehension and
lucidity in the surrounding darkness of incomprehension.
Reed fills the screen
with menacing close-ups, buildings reduced to rubble, ominous shadows and
pursuits (often moving downhill, perhaps suggesting a descent into moral
uncertainty) set in damp dark alleyways, all reflecting insecurity, doubt and
uncertainty, both physical and spiritual, culminating in the pursuit through
the sewers.
Perhaps representing the
depths of humanity, this unsavoury underworld is a suitable setting for the comeuppance
of one who has proved to be the lowest of the low, and it contrasts with other
encounters with Harry - on the Ferris Wheel where he is cocky and superior,
literally looking down on mankind, and as he approaches his final rendezvous with
Holly, again looking down on the scene. Many shots of Harry are taken at an
angle which suggests his superiority and even the shot of the cat licking his
feet might be taken to suggest his power and charm.
The famous (and
tremendously catchy) zither music by Anton Karas captures Harry’s playful,
charming and domineering personality.
The script by Graham
Greene is dense and largely character driven, and contains any number of sly,
engaging and thought-provoking observations on life (the Viennese inhabitants’ desire
to keep to themselves, Sergeant Paine’s unquestioning implementation of duty in
striking Holly while cheerfully engaging with him, Harry’s friends who will do
whatever they have to do in order to survive, Anna’s refusal to give up her bedazzled
view of Harry and Holly’s slow abandonment of blind loyalty in the face of
reality). This he manages to achieve while developing both the plot and the
characters.
The acting is excellent
throughout, though I would suggest that the scenes with Orson Welles in his
playful, charming and challenging role, lift the whole to another level of
entertainment and engagement.
My thanks for taking the
time to read this article.
I can be contacted at stuartfernie@yahoo.co.uk .
Stuart Fernie
