Hunted by men ... Sought by WOMEN!
In postwar Vienna, Austria, Holly Martins, a writer of pulp Westerns, arrives penniless as a guest of his childhood chum Harry Lime, only to learn he has died. Martins develops a conspiracy theory after learning of a "third man" present at the time of Harry's death, running into interference from British officer Major Calloway, and falling head-over-heels for Harry's grief-stricken lover, Anna.
The Third Man (1949) is a thriller and mystery film directed by Carol Reed, released on August 31, 1949 with a runtime of 1h 45m. It stars Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Trevor Howard and Orson Welles. Viewers rate it 7.9 out of 10 across 2,169 ratings.
Watch the official trailer for The Third Man before you stream it.
Official trailers, teasers, clips and featurettes for The Third Man.
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Joseph Cotten
as Holly Martins
Alida Valli
as Anna Schmidt
Trevor Howard
as Major Calloway
Orson Welles
as Harry Lime
Paul Hörbiger
as Karl the Porter
Ernst Deutsch
as 'Baron' Kurtz
Erich Ponto
as Dr. Winkel
Siegfried Breuer
as Popescu
Hedwig Bleibtreu
as Anna's Landlady
Bernard Lee
as Sergeant Paine
Wilfrid Hyde-White
as Crabbin
Alexis Chesnakov
as Col. Brodsky the Russian Liaison Officer (uncredited)
Directed by Carol Reed, written by Graham Greene and Graham Greene, produced by Carol Reed.
Average viewer score of 7.9/10 from 2,169 ratings.
Holly Martens (Joseph Cotten) receives a job offer from his friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles) in postwar occupied Vienna. He arrives there only to find that Lime is dead and every witness has a different story. Being a pulp writer, Holly thinks he can solve the mystery. But this is a Graham Greene story, and the mystery is not just a whodunit but an exploration of evil. Tangling with a nihilistic band of black…
Reviewed on February 18, 2017
Nobody thinks in terms of human beings. Governments don't. Why should we? The Third Man is directed by Carol Reed and written by Graham Greene. It stars Joseph Cotton, Alida Valli, Trevor Howard and Orson Welles. Music is by Anton Karas and cinematography by Robert Krasker. When writer Holly Martins (Cotton) travels to Vienna to hook up with his childhood friend Harry Lime (Welles), he is distressed to find that…
Reviewed on August 2, 2019
Nobody thinks in terms of human beings. Governments don't. Why should we? The Third Man is directed by Carol Reed and written by Graham Greene. It stars Joseph Cotton, Alida Valli, Trevor Howard and Orson Welles. Music is by Anton Karas and cinematography by Robert Krasker. When writer Holly Martins (Cotton) travels to Vienna to hook up with his childhood friend Harry Lime (Welles), he is distressed to find that…
Reviewed on August 2, 2019
Joseph Cotton ("Holly") arrives in post war Vienna to meet up with his former school friend "Harry Lime" - only to discover that he was recently killed in an automobile accident. Without his promised job, he starts to chat with the friends of the dead man and swiftly spots some inconsistencies that lead him to become suspicious. He determines to try and find out just quite what happened. It becomes harder and…
Reviewed on July 9, 2022
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The Third Man (1949) is available to stream on IndieFlix, Cineverse, BFI Player Amazon Channel, IndieFlix Shorts Amazon Channel and Artiflix, and to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube and Fandango At Home. Streaming availability is checked against JustWatch data and can change by region.
The main cast of The Third Man (1949) includes Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Trevor Howard, Orson Welles and Paul Hörbiger. The film was directed by Carol Reed. You can see the full cast and crew list, with character names, further up this page.
The Third Man was released on August 31, 1949 and runs for 1h 45m.
The Third Man (1949) holds an average rating of 7.9 out of 10 from 2,169 viewer votes, and is a good pick if you enjoy thriller and mystery films. Read the viewer reviews on this page to decide for yourself.
Yes. The official The Third Man trailer is embedded in the trailer section of this page and plays instantly, no download or sign-up required.
