The Third Man
UW Cinematheque 821 University Ave., UW Vilas Hall, Room 4070, Madison, Wisconsin
media release: UK | 1949 | 35mm | 104 min.
Director: Carol Reed
Cast: Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles
In the ruins of postwar Vienna, American writer Holly Martins (Cotten) arrives to visit old friend Harry Lime (Welles). However, Holly discovers that Lime is supposedly dead and under investigation for his role in the city’s lawless black market. Working from a screenplay by novelist Graham Greene, director Reed inventively directs this classic noir with a wealth of angled compositions and sinister shadows. Aided by its singular zither score and vivid location shooting, The Third Man is a masterfully off-kilter mystery, plunging deep into a morally murky world. A brand new 35mm print, courtesy of Rialto Pictures, will be screened.
