The Third Man (1949), Carol Reed *****

HARRY LIME: "In Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed — they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

This has to be among one of my favorite films. Every time I see it I’m reminded of why its held up so well over the years.

What I’ve consistently enjoyed most about The Third Man is the theme of a stranger-in-a-strange-land – which was most likely a great influence on later films that applied this same theme. The films unique score (played entirely on a zither), it’s masterful use of lighting/cinematography and its historic war-torn locations all contribute to the films atmosphere of paranoia and deceit.

Although Orson Welles is only in a “third” of the movie, his presence is most certainly felt throughout. And there could have been no better choice for the role of Harry Lime. While I admire Orson Welles a great deal, I have never been a huge fan, but his work here (as minimal as it was) ranks among his best.