Thursday, September 23, 2021

“Third Man” Out

The Third Man is a tricky little movie, one that’s full of surprises for the unwary. For one thing, the title is deliberately misleading. The identity of that mysterious third man is, in the scheme of things, quite beside the point. And the zither theme that continues throughout the film is so jaunty that you suspect you’re being prepared for a joyous romp. Something Fellini-esque, maybe? (Hardly true, as it turns out.) 

Finally, The Third Man is usually considered an Orson Welles tour-de-force. In fact, he didn’t direct (Carol Reed did), though he’s given some kudos for unbilled contributions to the screenplay written by British novelist Graham Greene. And his role in the film, though pivotal, is fairly small in terms of screentime. Still, he makes an indelible impression, and The Third Man’s intensely dramatic stylistics owe much to such Welles masterworks as Citizen Kane and The Stranger.

 One thing Welles apparently did contribute: the film’s most famous line. During a key conversation with Joseph Cotten on a Viennese Ferris wheel, he quips sardonically, as only Welles can, “In Italy, for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but 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.” Bingo!

 The Third Man, released in 1949, goes beyond the Americana of Citizen Kaine and The Magnificent Ambersons to cast a cold eye on post-Nazi Europe. Its view of a Vienna awash with occupation forces and petty criminals is totally chilling: almost everyone in the cast seems on the take, or suffers from conflicting allegiances Like, for instance, the leading lady (Alida Valli), who in continually switching sides proves herself to be a true femme fatale. And Americans in this world don’t come off any better than their European counterparts. Joseph Cotten’s character, a two-bit novelist visiting from the U.S., is almost terminally naïve. And then there’s the ominous Harry Lime. Today I suspect we’re particularly sensitive to the enormity of Lime’s shenanigans, watering down penicillin for his personal profit, and shrugging off the fact that children are dying – or worse.

 The world of The Third Man is that of film noir, international-style. There’s no question it looks fabulous. If the origins of film noir tend to connect with Raymond Chandler’s prematurely seedy L.A., this movie proves that the Old World is even more decadent and down-at-the-heels than the New. Vienna, in The Third Man, is a heady combination of dilapidated grandeur and police state. We see, usually by moonlight, the rococo buildings and twisty streets of the old city, as well as the shadowy depths of its sewers. (The film’s one Oscar went to Robert Kasker for his moody black-&-white cinematography, which take full advantage of location shooting.)

 I also commend the filmmakers for their wonderful collection of faces. The bit players in The Third Man are often wonderfully eccentric, even macabre, to look upon. They frequently speak in untranslated German, so that we share with Joseph Cotten a sense of displacement and being the odd man out. The dapper Cotten, one of the original Mercury Players, seemed to specialize in being a foil to Welles: in films like Citizen Kane he was the nice guy who both admired and ultimately couldn’t help resisting Welles’ powerfully physical presence. He plays that role here as well. But let’s not forget Hitchcock’s 1943 Shadow of a Doubt, in which the sinister side of Cotten comes fully into the ligh.

 

 

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12 comments:

  1. Wonderful essay. Will definitely watch it again even though I am already captured by it. It has more horrifying moments than any “horror” movie. Using that quote reminds me of an enjoyable book I just read, “ Reel Wisdom,” which is ONLY memorable quotes, divided by category ( Love, Sex, Breakups, Work, etc.) from favorites movies. Am also reading the first of William Goldman’s books on Hollywood. Will read his 2nd book too. Am up to your essays from 2015, each one is an education. THANKS! Bob.

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  2. My pleasure Bob. William Goldman is the best!

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  3. A question I’m sure you’re super qualified to answer-I was listening to a podcast with Ray Liota as the guest (his part in the Sopranos prequel) when he said he’d never watched Field of Dreams (God!). He’s about the 100th actor I’ve heard say that. It seems whacky. Why don’t they watch their own creativity and work???? I can’t believe that it’s because what Mr. Tanner experienced in the Harry Chaplin song of the same name-“of his concert in New York he only heard the flaws.” Is it that, the perceived flaws are too “diminishing.”? Best to ya. Bob.

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  4. Bob, I honestly think that actors don't want to be self-conscious about their own performing skills. An actor today generally creates a role from the inside, and if he or she is focusing on what the performance LOOKS LIKE on screen, the actor might start focusing on the wrong thing. Does that make sense? (I should add that earlier actors, notably Laurence Olivier, often began with the physical -- the costume, the false nose -- and only gradually allowed the inner performance to evolve. I have a hunch that Olivier was quite comfortable watching his performances, especially since he directed a number of them.

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  5. Beverly, What you wrote makes total sense, now I see the response as a strength. Two minor things. I’m reading “A Light in the Dark” by David Thompson (it’s about, as I’m sure you know, a number of great directors-finished Fritz Lang and am up to Hitch). Really liked your observations about “Whiplash.” Love J K but couldn’t watch “Oz” on TV, toooooooooo unsettling. Be safe. Bob. ALSO-Adore Sir Larry- terrifyingly convincing as a Nazi in The Boys from Brazil and an adoring Jewish father and rabbi to Neal in The Jazz Singer. How opposite can you get?

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  6. I love Olivier too (of course). Did you ever see him in John Osbourne's The Entertainer? He always said that the part of Archie Rice, a failed music hall performer, was one of his greatest challenges, because the role required him to appear to be only minimally talented, a real ham actor.

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  7. Hiya, Yes, I certainly saw him in The Entertainer and I agree that his performance was incredible-because-he had to be such a bad actor, which we knew, as his fans, was exactly the opposite of who he was. Best, Bob. PS. Can’t wait to read your new piece mana. Another PS I went to H S (Lafayette) in Brooklyn, at that time ( Class of ‘63), and maybe now, the best Brooklyn HS was, Ta-Dum-Alexander Hamilton (your Alma Mater)! I believe you were IN Brooklyn back then, spiritually.

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  8. Wow, who knew? I DO have a son in Brooklyn now.

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  9. So you have a son in Brooklyn, FANTASTIC!!!!! (To me it’s still heaven). I guess you’re 7 years younger than me (I’m 76), SO, your son should be in his late ‘30’s or so.If he’s into business I say he lives in Park Slope, Carroll Gardens or Boerum Hill. If he’s into The Arts (like you) I’d imagine he lives in Williamsburg, Greenpoint, DUMBO, Bed-Sty or Bushwick (my first 22 years were in Midwood and Bensonhurst). You don’t gotta tell me, just guessing. Best to him, may he forever thrive. Bob.

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  10. Good guess -- he's in the arts (he writes musical theatre)and now lives in Park Slope with many roommates.

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  11. THE most beautiful neighborhood in Brooklyn. The homes are gorgeous, the view is magnificent, I’ve walked the Promenade 10,000 times (my most moving post 9/11 photograph was taken from there) and Montague Street is filled with life and creativity (The Brooklyn Dodgers used to have their home office there). And musical theater! I’ve been going to on and off-Broadway musicals since “Pajama Game.” Give him my best, AND, since I mentioned the Dodgers, Ms. Calif. lady, please send them back, I still miss them. Best, Bob. PS Let me know when he has a new work playing as the theater has reopened and we’ll go so it.

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  12. We'll keep the Dodgers in L.A., thank you very much! But I'll certainly let you know if my son is involved with something playing to audiences.

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