Contents
1
Birth of a Film Classic
“London? Paris?
What about Vienna?”
The Head of the Trail “Mr. Greene is to write
an original post-war
continental story…”
Graham Greene in Vienna “Definitely with a
bottle of whisky.” - The
Making of a Screenplay
“THE THIRD MAN was never
written to be read but
only to be seen.” - From
Novel to Screenplay
2
A British-American Tug of-
War - British Cinema
Versus Hollywood
“Who the hell is going
to see a movie called
THE THIRD MAN?” - David O. Selznick
“A Stroke of Genius”
- British Cinema
Triumphant at Last
3
Harry Lime’s Post-War
Vienna - The History
behind the Story
“Constantinople suited me
better.” - A City in Ruins
“I thought the liberation
would be quite different!” - Vienna, an Occupied City
“Everyone ought to be
careful in a city like
this!” - Crime and
the Black Market
“Men with gangrened legs,
women in childbirth.” - The
Wonder Drug Penicillin
“What kind of a spy
do you think you are?” - Vienna, a Den of Spies
4
Vienna Between Fact and Fiction - “Greeneland” on the Danube
“Vienna is just the
backdrop to a fairy tale.”
- A Time Capsule
Nevertheless
“So much of it is
breathtakingly real.” - The Perfect Illusion
“Where has all the operetta
music gone?” - Vienna is not Amused
5
Between Vienna and
Shepperton - The Making
of THE THIRD MAN
“Just ask Karl. He’ll sort
everything out.” - On Location in Vienna
A City of Cardboard,
Papier-Maché and Paint. - Shepperton
Worthy of an Oscar
- Carol Reed and His
Team of Excellence
“He eats, drinks and sleeps
cinema. Carol Reed is
cinema.” - The Director
and his Masterpiece
“…and the Oscar goes” - Reed’s Production Crew
7
The Star Cast
“Nobody thinks in
terms of human beings.”
- Orson Welles
“You still believe in God, don’t you?”
- Joseph Cotten
“The Russians would
claim me. I come from
Czechoslovakia.”
- Alida Valli
“We should have dug
deeper than a grave.”
- Trevor Howard
“I’d like to see Texas before
I die, sir.” - Bernard Lee
“I represent the C.R.S.
of G.H.Q.” - Wilfrid
Hyde-White
8
“Lovingly chosen and
brilliantly staged.” - The
Austrian Cameo Cast
“There was a third man.
He didn’t give evidence.” - Paul Hörbiger
“I thought the liberation
would be very different.” - Hedwig Bleibtreu
“It’s wonderful how
you keep the tension.” - Ernst Deutsch
“Humanity’s a duty.” - Siegfried Breuer
“I cannot give an opinion.” - Erich Ponto
“Papa, it was him! He
was the murderer!” - Herbert Halbik
9
“Tell Carol to get himself
another musician.” - Anton Karas
10
“She pays no attention,
walking right past him
and on into the distance.” - A Perfect Ending
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