The Third Man and The Fallen Idol

by Graham Greene

The Third Man is Greene's brilliant recreation of post-war Vienna, a city of desolate poverty occupied by four powers. Rollo Martins, a second-rate novelist, arrives penniless in Vienna to visit his old friend and hero Harry Lime. Harry is dead, but the circumstances surrounding his death are highly suspicious, and his reputation, at the very least, dubious.

Graham Greene said of The Third Man that he "wanted to entertain [people], to frighten them a little, to make them laugh" and the result is both a compelling narrative and a haunting thriller. The Fallen Idol is the chilling story of a small boy caught up in the games that adults play. Left in the care of the butler, Baines, and his wife, Philip realizes too late the danger of lies and deceit. But the truth is even deadlier.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Crime, Mystery, Short Stories, Thriller, British Literature

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1949

About the author

Henry Graham Greene was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century.
Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a reputation early in his lifetime as a major writer, both of serious Catholic novels, and of thrillers (or "entertainments" as he termed them). He was shortlisted for the Nobel Prize in Literature several times. Through 67 years of writing, which included over 25 novels, he explored the conflicting moral and political issues of the modern world. The Power and the Glory won the 1941 Hawthornden Prize and The Heart of the Matter won the 1948 James Tait Black Memorial Prize and was shortlisted for the Best of the James Tait Black. Greene was awarded the 1968 Shakespeare Prize and the 1981 Jerusalem Prize. Several of his stories have been filmed, some more than once, and he collaborated with filmmaker Carol Reed on The Fallen Idol (1948) and The Third Man (1949).
He converted to Catholicism in 1926 after meeting his future wife, Vivienne Dayrell-Browning. Later in life he took to calling himself a "Catholic agnostic". He died in 1991, aged 86, of leukemia, and was buried in Corseaux cemetery in Switzerland. William Golding called Greene "the ultimate chronicler of twentieth-century man's consciousness and anxiety".

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deservedly under the 'Vintage Classics' label, two of Green's 'written for filming' novellas. The Third Man, even without Orson Welles' incredible 'cuckoo clock' speech, paints a great picture of a few months of life in post-(Second World)-war Europe and its effect on the common man as well as the weakening of the ties between the Russians and the other Allied Forces. The compelling tale of contradictory witness statements of a death caused by a car accident(?), where one statement talks of a third man at the scene, which does not balance with other witnesses. The Fallen Idol is another great story looking at what causes a seven year-old to lose total faith with a man he idolised within his household. 8 out of 12, Four Stars.

2022 read; 2011 read

[Supratim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Vintage Classics features the two brilliant stories!

The edition I read had an introduction by Ian Thompson. This introduction is insightful but it revealed the plot and climax of both the stories as did the respective prefaces by the author, so I strongly suggest that you come back to these after reading the stories.

The Third Man
The Third Man was not supposed to be published as a book; Greene wanted to write a screenplay for a movie. The author wrote the story to create characterization, mood and atmosphere before he got to the screenplay. In the preface Greene mentions that the movie is actually better than the story.

The story is narrated by Col. Calloway of the British security police posted in Vienna. He is a pretty decent man.

Rollo Martins – writer of cheap westerns, almost a pauper, a harmless drunk with some women problems but overall a good man arrives at post WWII Vienna on the invitation of his childhood hero and friend Harry Lime.

Greene’s depiction of Vienna – dreary, destroyed and as an occupied territory is indeed praiseworthy and the author’s skill in using the elements of weather to convey meaning is also wonderful.

Needless to say, the writing is excellent and the characterization is brilliant. I liked the way the character of Martins is influenced by Rollo and Martins.

Rollo Martins arrives at Vienna to find that his hero, Harry has died in an accident and also learns that he might have been involved in some racketeering. Determined to know what had happened to his friend, Martins continues to investigate Harry’s death and as expected people die such that certain secrets are not revealed.

Human beings can do anything to further their vested interests. Do we really know a person whom we regard as our friend! Conflict between justice & morality on one hand and friendship on the other is brilliantly portrayed. Like most of his novels, the author’s Catholic belief also makes an appearance in the story.

The suspense would keep you turning the pages, some of the dialogues would strike a chord and the climax, in my humble opinion the most satisfying. The mood of the novel is dark and dreary, but a case of mistaken identity would provide some light-hearted moments as well.

I would recommend this story to lovers of mystery and suspense.

The story appears in both the lists of top 100 crime novels published by the British-based Crime Writers' Association and the Mystery Writers of America in the nineteen nineties. The lists can be found here - Link

The Fallen Idol

It is s short and dark story about the destruction of a child’s innocence. The traumatic events would keep haunting him years later until his very last breath.

Master Phillips is a little boy who has been left in the care of the family butler Mr. Baines and his wife, while his parents are out enjoying a vacation.

Mr. Baines is a decent man, he is kind to Phillips and is in turn loved by the child. Mrs. Baines is a different person altogether – sour and unpleasant, domineering and yet servile when she wants to be.

Poor Phillips gets caught up in the world of adults where lies and deception are normal. Certain events terrify Phillips and he desperately wants to withdraw from the world of adults. His predicament – running away from home, crying on the roads, his desperate desire to be rescued by the police and his insistence that a “male” constable should escort him home as his child’s mind believed that only a policeman could “impress” the formidable Mrs. Baines – would strike a chord.
Even in such a dreary setting, Greene’s description of a policeman is sort of humorous – not the laugh out loud type but somewhat subtle, and it bears testimony to the author’s wit.

I won’t elaborate more as I don’t want to give away the plot.

I don’t know if my review has done justice to this brilliant story, but if you like chilling stories then please give it a reading.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why have I taken so long to read something from Greene? I can't be exact, but I suppose I didn't expect him to be such a compelling writer. My Dad had a few Greene books in various places in his bookshelves as I was growing up, and I had always wondered what the fuss was all about. Well, now I know.

This book consists of two short novels, the first one, 'The Third Man' is the more known of the two, and I have since been told, there is a rather good film adaptation of it. I intend to seek that out. I was moderately intrigued throughout the story, and the dark humour was well received, however, I did notice that characterisation was fairly thin, and near enough non-existent, and instead, the story concentrated entirely around activity. This wasn't necessarily a bad aspect, but I wasn't expecting it. I enjoyed this short but interesting delve into Greene's works, and I've realised he has a style that I can appreciate.

'The Fallen Idol' is a much shorter story, and is about child innocence lost. A child unfortunately gets involved in adult affairs, and tragedy strikes. This story was told from the child's perspective, which I found to be rather engaging.

I'm so glad I've finally read something from Greene, and I'm certainly looking forward to reading some of his more lengthy works in the future!

[Megan Baxter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a slim little book, but the two stories in it pack quite a wallop. One, is, of course, the more famous, the basis for The Third Man movie. The other was also made into a movie, but is not as well known.

Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.

In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook

[Metodi Markov · Rating 3 out of 5]

За пореден път ми е изтрито ревюто… 🤮

"Третият" – 3,5*

Едно приятелство от детинство завършва в руините на разрушената и окупирана след ВСВ Виена.

Цитати:

"Ние никога не можем да свикнем с мисълта, че сме по-незначителни за другите хора, отколкото са те за нас."

"Злото беше като Питър Пан — таеше в себе си ужасяващия и страшен дар на вечната младост."

"Падналият идол" – 3*

Не ми допадна превода и това се отрази на оценката ми за тази кратичка новела.

[Chrissie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short stories aren’t usually my cup of tea, but the two here are excellent. I guarantee they will leave a lasting impression on you. I recommend both highly. The two are completely different from each other. One is a mystery set in Vienna after the Second World War. The second is about a young boy left at home with the servants while his parents are gone. Both are atmospheric. Both envelope you in a particular time and place. In both the prose is excellent. The mystery starts off complicated--I wondered if I would be able to keep track of who is who. You do. Graham Greene is an expert at drawing a comprehensible and exciting story. Both stories pull you and grab you attention all the way through. Grab this book. It’s a winner!

Thank you, Rosemarie, for recommending it to me.

In the audiobook, Maetin Jarvis reads the first story. George Blagden reads the second. Both read expertly, Both I have given four stars.

***************************

*The Heart of the Matter 5 stars
*The Third Man & The Fallen Idol 4 stars
*The Quiet American 4 stars
*The Human Factor 4 stars
*The End of the Affair 2 stars
*Travels with My Aunt 2 stars

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a film script and never intended for publication, Greene wrote the novelette The Third Man about a man investigating his friend's untimely death in postwar Vienna in order to use it as the basis for a screenplay he had agreed to write. Those who have appreciated Carol Reed's film version, widely considered one of the finest films of all time, may enjoy reading the source material for the film and will notice some differences in the story, including the ending. For this edition, The Third Man is packaged with one of Greene's short stories "The Basement Room" which was filmed, also by Reed, as The Fallen Idol.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Third Man

Rollo Martins is a writer of Western novels, which are reasonably successful but not particularly lucrative. So when he is contacted by an old school friend, Harry Lime, offering him a job in Vienna he jumps at the chance. But when he arrives, he is met with the news that Harry is dead, and his funeral is arranged for that day. Rollo goes to the funeral and meets Colonel Calloway, who had been investigating the scheme that Harry was involved in – a scheme that showed Harry to be morally repugnant, if true. But Rollo doesn’t believe it – he knows Harry sailed close to the wind and wasn’t above scamming and cheating people, but the scheme as described by Col. Calloway is too cruel, too inhumane. So Rollo sets out to do his own investigation, in reluctant cahoots with Calloway but with a different motivation. But has Harry carried out a bigger scam than any of them suspect? And what will Rollo do when he finds out the truth?

There’s an interesting introduction from Greene in which he explains that, when asked to write a “film play”, he finds it necessary to first set the story out in novel form, before condensing it for the screen. Then he gets together with the director – in this case Carol Reed – to hammer out the changes needed to make the story work on screen, taking account of casting and locations, etc. Greene tells us that we should not therefore think that the eventual changes were made by the director – they were all things agreed to and sometimes suggested by Greene, and worked by him into the final screenplay.

Effectively, therefore, this is a first draft, and it shows. The story is there, substantially as it will finally remain. But there’s not the usual depth in the setting and characterisation of most Greene novels – clearly he has left much of the nuance to be brought out by director and actors. I did, however, feel that the basic plot is much clearer in the book – I’ve always found the film to be a bit murky as to what Harry Lime’s scheme actually was.

In the film, Orson Welles’ wonderful performance lights up the screen, lifting a good film into great territory in the last half hour or so when he finally appears. This also has the odd effect of throwing the viewer (this viewer, anyway) rather onto Lime’s side, despite his supposed nefarious actions. In the film also, Joseph Cotten makes an attractive and reasonably heroic Holly Martens (the name changed because Cotten is American, not English as Greene originally envisaged the character, and Carol Reed felt the name Rollo would sound silly for an American. Weirdly, he didn’t seem to feel the same about the name Holly!) In the book, Rollo/Holly is a drunken womaniser with few redeeming qualities, his loyalty to his old school friend being about his only likeable feature. And Lime is much more clearly a money-grubbing opportunist with zero conscience or compassion.

The setting of post-war, partitioned Vienna gives both book and film a noir feel and an atmosphere of danger and tension. In the book, however, Greene makes much use of snow, and of the city full of buildings still damaged by bombing, some to the point of ruin, to add to the atmosphere. The film, presumably for technical reasons, omits the snowy winter element, and while Reed does show some shots of damaged buildings I didn’t feel this was quite as prominent as in the book.

The film, however, is better in many ways. The music, of course! The girl Anna – Harry’s girlfriend and soon to be Holly’s love interest – is so much better in the film. Reed has taken Greene’s limp rag of a man-dependent female and given her a strength and moral core she simply doesn’t have in the book. The performance by Alida Valli is one of the film’s major strengths – I felt she and Welles completely outshone Cotten, although he is the nominal hero. And the end of Anna’s story is changed entirely for the better – to use a fashionable term, she is given “agency” which she lacks completely in the book. The short comedy interlude, where Holly gets roped into giving a talk to a group of people who think he writes heavyweight literature rather than Westerns, is better in the film, though still out of place in both book and film in my opinion. The scene in the sewers is a marvel of film-making – it’s in the book, but not nearly as effective, and Reed gets a truly emotional element into it that the book doesn’t quite achieve. Welles - what can I say about Welles’ performance that hasn’t been said before and better? Nothing, so I’ll limit myself to saying he makes the film. Without him, it wouldn’t be a classic.

So overall, the basic story is the same but there are some significant differences and, in the end, the book is good while the film is great. And, as Greene tells us in the introduction, that was the plan all along.

The Fallen Idol

This is another story later adapted into a screenplay by the pairing of Greene and Reed, this time for a film I haven’t seen. A young boy, Philip, is left in the care of the butler and his wife while his parents go away for two weeks. (Already my credibility meter is in overload.) He witnesses something that he only half understands, and by revealing it, inadvertently betrays the butler, whom he saw as a friend. His confusion, the betrayal and the impact on Philip’s future life are all portrayed well. However, the depiction of the two women characters in this is so deeply misogynistic that the whole thing left a bad taste – I can only hope these characterisations too were improved in the process of making the film. Interesting to learn of Greene’s process for writing for the screen, but I wouldn’t recommend this one at all in its written form.

www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com

[Велислав Върбанов · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐

Книгата съдържа две мрачни криминални повести на Греъм Грийн. От тях ми хареса само „Третият“, чието напрегнато действие се развива във Виена след Втората световна война. По това време столицата на Австрия е разцепена на отделни зони от спечелилите държави, което създава условия за жестока престъпност. Писател пристига там, за да види свой стар приятел, а след като научава, че е загинал в мистериозна злополука, се захваща с разследване за убийство...



„За пръв път Роло Мартинс си припомни миналото без възхищение и си помисли: „Той никога няма да порасне“. Злото беше като Питър Пан — таеше в себе си ужасяващия и страшен дар на вечната младост.“

[Panagiotis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Μια μικρή ιστορία ενηλικίωσης, με τον νεαρό αγόρι να μαθαίνει πολύ γρήγορα και σκληρά, τον κόσμο των μεγάλων, καθώς στα μάτια του αποκαθηλώνεται ο μαγευτικός μπάτλερ του σπιτιού - ένας άντρας της περιπέτειας, με γοητευτικές αρχές, αλλά μάλλον απρόσεκτος, όπως όλοι γινόμαστε όταν μας κουράζει η ζωή.

Ο Γκράχαμ Γκριν εδώ γράφει πυκνά, με πολλά νοημάτα να κρύβονται στον κόσμο που βλέπει ο μικρός. Οι παρατηρήσεις του καθώς αποτελεί τον ενδιάμεσο μεταξύ του αγοριού και του αναγνώστη είναι οξυδερκείς, κοφτερές. Τσούζει η αλήθεια, αλλά τελικά αυτή είναι η ζωή μας: άλλοτε σκληρή, άλλοτε χαρωπή, μάταιη και πεπερασμένη.

[Nancy Oakes · Rating 5 out of 5]

both stories are excellent and I loved them both. Graham Greene is a master storyteller, and is a genius at characterization - and from what I can see, much more about people than plot. It is just a crying shame that he's not as widely read as he should be.

I'll be linking this post directly to my reading journal, since I wrote about this book and The Ministry of Fear together. So read on:

http://www.crimesegments.com/2017/03/...

[Jonfaith · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is no surprise that The Third Man as a novel remains inchoate. It is a signpost, a germinating seed carelessly pitched in frustrated haste. Where does it lead, what will grow? The film’s images travel in any reader’s bloodstream. Cotten, Howard and Welles occupy the dialogue. Greene’s descriptions are wan and undeveloped. What then can possibly pierce a contemporary reader? The crux of The Third Man is the death of loyalty. Reason and Ideology may trade blows in a makeshift ring, governed in an incomprehensible language, what matters is friendship, right? Even loyalties forged over a lifetime become suspect in the murky reality of postwar Vienna.

[Martine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carol Reed's The Third Man ranks among my favourite noir films. To a large extent, this is because of its stunningly atmospheric black-and-white cinematography (I just love those ruins and shadows...), but it's also because there's something quite compelling about the story about a Brit who is invited to post-war Vienna by a friend, only to discover that said friend is dead and may have been involved in a rather nasty racket. That story was written by Graham Greene, and was published by Penguin along with another Greene story adapted for the screen by Reed, 'The Fallen Idol'.

The Third Man is unlike other Greene books. As Greene himself points out in the preface, 'it was never written to be read but only to be seen'. In other words, while it's not exactly a film script, The Third Man was written to be turned into one, and it shows. By Greene's standards, the story is light on characterisation and heavy on descriptions of actions and situations. This is bad news for those of us who like Greene precisely for his characterisation, but it's not necessarily a bad thing per se, as for one thing, what little characterisation there is is solid and original (I love Rollo Martins' semi-split personality) and for another, both the plot and the atmosphere are great. Post-war Vienna (carved up into four spheres of influence by the Americans, British, French and Russians) makes for a wonderfully tense setting, and involuntary detective Rollo Martins' journey from indignation to disbelief to disillusionment to acceptance makes for compulsive reading, featuring as it does dramatic plot twists, some dark humour and a healthy dose of cynicism. In short, it's a fairly strong novella, even if it doesn't match up with Greene's longer works. Even so, I'm going to defer to the author's own assessment, which is that the film is better than the story (and not just because the story lacks the famous cuckoo clock line, which was written by Orson Welles). It's simply because the film (on which Greene closely collaborated with Reed) is, as Greene points out in his preface, 'in this case the finished state of the story', whereas the book version is merely an earlier draft -- a solid draft, but an unfinished one nonetheless.

As for the second, much shorter story in the book, 'The Fallen Idol', this is a tragedy about an innocent child who gets caught up in the nasty games adults play and ends up accidentally handing his best friend over to the police. As an exploration of the innocence-versus-guilt theme, it's rather interesting, especially since it is (unusually for Greene) told from the child's point of view. Due to the childish perspective, Greene doesn't get to indulge in his trademark cynicism (which is what I love best about him), but still, it's a well-told, well-observed story with great characters, some menace, several 'Oh, no!' moments and an abrupt but effective ending. It's not brilliant, but it's decent story-telling -- more proof (if any were needed) that Greene didn't need many words to tell a powerful story.

All in all, I'd say this is a solid 3.5-star book. Since it's closer to four stars than to three, I'll be generous and give it four.

[Dillwynia Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Third Man & The Fallen Idol (formerly The Basement Room) share in common theme - being the basis for films directed by Carol Reed. Greene had to write a "story" before he wrote a script & this is the case of The Third Man. It was never meant to be published; therefore, there are interesting differences by the time the film was made. Our lead changes from English to American, the love interest from bland to beautiful and the end is much more dramatic and black under Reed's minor change (also more realistic, considering the events of the film).

Carol Reed was an important film director & sadly is now very much forgotten except by English Noir Film buffs. Much is made that this is Orson Welles' film, but that is nonsense, the film is Reed's. The famous Harry Lime theme was discovered by Reed during his visit with Greene to Vienna when developing the plot. And regardless how Welles could act, if Reed was a poor director, this film would never have gotten the recognition it has. Reed was of theatre nobility - his father was the famous Victorian actor & director Herbert Tree (as mentioned in Eliot's Old Possum Book of Cats - "He acted with Irving, he has acted with Tree") and his nephew was Oliver Reed.

The story reflects an ugly time in modern Europe. Vienna, a dead city in a dead country, with the victors still growling & picking over the spoils. It is hard to imagine the Vienna now being a one where everyone racketeers just to survive; where everyone lives in fear of their past, and depending on the occupied zone they live in, their future. Greene could always describe this type of situation perfectly & the story is fast paced and natural and ugly.

The Fallen Idol (a title I do prefer) was written in the steamer on Greene's return from Liberia in the mid 30s. As both Reed & Greene recognised, the world of a wealthy London family with servants had disappeared after the War, so they moved the scene to an Embassy. It still works. This is very much in the ilk of James' What Maise Knew, and again explores the innocence of childhood and the impacts the adult world can have on said innocence. Philip is given adult secrets. At 1st they appear to be golden globes, but they actually are tawdry baubbles & he says clearly towards the end of the story: I don't want your secrets! He desperately wants to retain his childhood, but sadly, events now have changed that forever. There is even a chance that in later life Philip will be a slightly damaged adult. You feel nothing but compassion for Philip & his loss of childlike innocence.

The title "Fallen Idol" is actually appropriate to both stories. In each case, a hero is shown to be of clay feet, and in fact, once the glow is scrapped away, to actually be not very nice people at all. Both hero men are loved and worshiped and ultimately they both prey, exploit, and destroy this love. This love is innocent and deep adoration - the heroes they have loved have never disappointed. Our heroes know this & exploit it. As I said, they are actually ugly people. The outcomes are the same - both main characters ultimately "destroy" their hero. Again, this is a typical Greene theme.

Both novellas are tight, fast paced and full of pathos. I happily recommend them to friends for a stimulating holiday or relaxing day's read.

[Dan Witte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graham Greene worked with English director Carol Reed to turn both these stories into movies (Reed also adapted other Greene stories for film), first with The Fallen Idol, which was originally published in 1935 under the title The Basement Room. This tells the story of a boy who witnesses his family’s butler kill his wife while his parents are away on a holiday, and it’s the only time I’ve ever read a Greene tale told from a child’s perspective – though it’s hardly a children’s story. The Third Man was a germ of an idea that sat dormant for years in Greene’s head, and which he sparked to life with Reed’s help. It was Greene’s belief that a story had to exist in a more conventional prose form before it could be turned into a screenplay, so Reed helped him build the story as it is published here (Greene said he did most of the dialogue), which “was never intended to be more than the raw material for a picture”. This was a more typical Greene story, concerning suspicious goings-on in Vienna during post-war occupation by England, France, the US and Russia, and though it may not be Greene’s weightiest work, I found it pretty satisfying. There’s a subtle and recurring gag around an author being mistaken for a more famous author, which reads like Greene poking fun at the literary community, and while it was amusing it was tangential to the story at best, and I can’t imagine this made it into the film. I wouldn’t know because I’ve never seen either of these films, but Greene warns readers that they will encounter numerous scenes and ideas here that don’t appear in either of them. In any case Greene was said to be happy with both movies, and indeed he dedicates this book to Reed. Another book called Shades of Greene collects the 18 of his other stories that were adapted for television, and all of these 18 are also included in the larger Collected Short Stories, which waits for me in my leaning to-read tower. It’s a testament to Greene’s abilities that even something as slapdash as a pre-screenplay can be so entertaining and feel so finished.

[Smiley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first novella "The Third Man" originally meant to be seen rather than to be read was the 1949 British film while the second one "The Fallen Idol" first published as 'The Basement Room' in 1935, according to the author, was not intended to be the 1948 one (p. 101) and both directed by Carol Reed. I read them because its two-in-one copy was timely available; however, I found reading each a bit tough so, I think, we should read their synopses from Wikipedia, an introduction by Ian Thomson and the prefaces for some updated backgrounds. Reading Graham Greene essentially needs such information, therefore, we can find ourselves busy reading his works with arguable enjoyment and understanding.

Once in a while, we might have heard/read on a saying warning us not to judge a book by its cover. I think this could apply to these two titles, in other words, do not judge them by its lengths or be not complacent when you find these two novellas anywhere since their dimensions are something in disguise. As we can see from my brief survey: "The Third Man" a 17-chapter novella in its own right has 92 pages whereas "The Fallen Idol" a mini 5-chapter one has merely 28 pages. Which one seems easier to read?

In contrast, I've found reading "The Third Man" more enjoyable, more in-depth and more gripping in terms of its plot, characters and climax than "The Fallen Idol". A few of the reasons would be in terms of the different scenarios in that the first deals with a sort of illicit trade and betrayal amid the World War II aftermath in Vienna while the second explores human relationships between adults and youngsters, as we can see more details narrated in the first to the extent of powerful figurative narrative in which we could read and enjoy to follow the narration while the second written with relatively less powerful one. For instance, as focused on the physical setting description, the passages in questions are as follows:

Even this cemetery was zoned between the Powers: the Russian zone was marked by huge tasteless statues of armed men, the French by rows of anonymous wooden crosses and a torn tired tricolour flag. Then Martins remembered that Lime was a Catholic and was unlikely to be buried in the British zone for which they had been vainly searching. So back they drove through the heart of a forest where the graves lay like wolves under the trees, winking white eyes under the gloom of the evergreens. ... (p. 12)

As compared to this extract:

Through the drawing-room doorway on the first floor he saw the draped chairs; even the china clock on the mantel was covered like a canary's cage; ... On the nursery table he found his supper laid out: a glass of milk and a piece of bread and butter, a sweet biscuit, and a little old Queen's pudding without the meringue. He had no appetite; he strained his ears for Mrs Baines's coming, for the sound of voice, but the basement held its secrets; the green baize door shut off that world. ... (p. 112)

Alliteratively speaking, the first boldly keeps us alert with 'a torn tired tricolour flag,' 'winking white eyes' whereas the second with 'drawing-room doorway,' 'the first floor,' 'a canary's cage' and 'bread and butter'. I mean the repetition of consonants at the beginning of two or more words immediately succeeding each other; therefore, I've found the first narrating 'a torn tired tricolour flag' (without commas!) more pleasing, more figurative and more appreciative to read than 'drawing-room doorway' and the others. Incidentally, such a tricolour flag denoting a French one reminds me of our Thai ones called ธงไตรรงค์ symbolizing our country since 1917 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of... as for the two-syllable Thai word ไตรรงค์, ไตร literally equals tri and รงค์ means colour. Then the word 'tired' modifying 'flag', as if it were a person, suggests the flag's flabbiness due to its excessive duty, that is, it is so exhausted that it won't flow proudly and honourably in the wind any longer. Finally, the word 'torn' again modifying 'flag' obviously evidences its tough, ungrateful mission till it is torn due to the wind and its durability limit or due to its undue neglect and lax administration. Therefore, its overall meaning infers seemingly contemptuous dignity regarding its pride and honour.

[Cassio Queiros · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Basement Room" (or "The Fallen Idol") is a masterpiece, in my humble opinion.
Poignant, moving and memorable short story.
And don't miss the movie, "The Fallen Idol" (1948), directed by the brilliant Carol Reed, with terrific performances by Ralph Richardson (as "Baines"), the beautiful Michèle Morgan, Sonia Dresdel and especially that wonderful young boy, Bobby Henrey (as "Phillipe").

[Jayakrishnan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Fallen Idol is a terrifying and devastating novella from Graham Greene. A young boy Philip Lane is left in the care of Mr and Mrs Baines, a caretaker couple, when his parents are away. While Philip longs to spend time with the talkative Mr.Baines, listening to his stories about Africans, the domineering and suspicious Mrs Baines thwarts them continuously. The characters of Mr and Mrs Baines are built and developed entirely through Philip Lane’s childhood awareness. Mrs Baines is a diabolical character and the fact that we see and hear her through young Philip’s sensitive eyes and ears probably makes her seem more sinister than she actually is. Mr.Baines, who seems to be living a life of silent desperation is a pathetic character. But one that evokes sympathy. We are not told how he ended up in the clutches of Mrs.Baines. Mr.Baines often talks about his glorious past with many African servants but the details are sketchy at best. Like another reviewer said, poor Mr.Baines! The flash-forward shows a man who is destroyed by a premature introduction to the adult world.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Evil was like Peter Pan – it carried with it the horrifying and horrible gift of eternal youth.’

Two novellas – one being little more than a short story – make up this volume; they’re linked by the fact that both also became postwar films from director Carol Reed. The Third Man is much the more famous movie but its immediate predecessor The Fallen Idol was well regarded too.

Superficially, though, they may seem to have nothing in common. One is set in the ruins of postwar Vienna, in a shady world of black marketeers and incipient Cold War tensions, whereas the other takes place in a mansion in during the late Victorian era in London’s Belgravia, the epitome of bourgeois respectability and comfort.

And yet both reveal where lies and deceit can lead to innocents becoming embroiled in sudden tragic death, regardless of whether the protagonist thinks himself a man of the world or presents as a trusting seven year old boy.

In The Third Man our innocent is English author Rollo Martins, invited by old school friend Harry Lime to join some enterprise connected with refugees in Vienna. Martins writes pulp Westerns under the pen name Buck Dexter, not realising there’s a Benjamin Dexter writing more serious fiction with whom he will become confused. But when Martins finally gets to war-torn Vienna he finds Harry Lime is about to be buried, the victim of an unfortunate traffic accident.

For a decade after the war Austria’s capital was divided into zones, each policed by the occupying forces of France, Britain, the US or Russia. In this time of slow stabilisation, reconstruction and shifting fortunes not all black market enterprises were relatively free of pain, but Martins finds it hard to believe Colonel Calloway when the military policeman says his deceased friend was involved in the worst kind of racketeering.

This novella – simultaneously a thriller, a mystery and a comedy of errors – is about alternate identities as much as depicting ugly realities. The protagonist is both Rollo the drunk womaniser and Martins the intrepid seeker after truth, a light genre hack or, as some assume, a literary heavyweight; meanwhile Harry may be his charismatic friend or a selfish criminal; Calloway may be a crooked cop or a trustworthy investigator; Harry’s girlfriend Anna Schmidt may be an Austrian citizen or a Hungarian refugee; and so it goes on.

Greene’s job is to keep us guessing while encouraging us to hope for the best, and he maintains a sense of instability by setting his story in the depths of a bitter Austrian winter, in a European capital in ruins. Was Harry dead or dying when he was carried back into the building after the collision? And were there just two men with the body or three, and if the latter who was the third man? At the approaching climax the plot reaches heights in Vienna’s famous Giant Ferris Wheel before plumbing depths in the city’s labyrinth of sewers. And it begins and ends with a burial, one fake and another certain.

The background to these two pieces is, as the author indicated in his fine prefaces to each, as involved as the stories themselves. For example ‘The Fallen Idol’ was originally titled ‘The Basement Room’ when written in 1935/6, appearing in Greene’s Twenty-One Stories (1954), which was itself a collection consisting mostly of pieces previously contained in the selection entitled Nineteen Stories (1947).

Though Greene’s book treatment for The Third Man was, in collaboration with Carol Reed, significantly adapted as the screenplay for the 1949 film the original was then published as a novella by William Heinemann in 1950; now it was accompanied by ‘The Basement Room’, which Reed had previously filmed in 1948 but with a different title – The Fallen Idol – which is how the short story was republished (and generally continues to be known) although the author considered it somewhat misleading.

In fact, as with the sewers that feature in The Third Man, the basement room of the short story may have significant psychological import: in Freudian theory, as the author doubtless was aware, cellars and so on represent the unconscious mind. Philip, the young lad whose point of view we’re given here, is fearful at night of shadows and nameless things under the bed but is prepared during the day to venture through the baize door that leads down to the servants’ quarters: here is where Baines the butler and Mrs Baines the housekeeper are based.

While Philip’s parents are away the lad looks forward to being in the company of the easy-going Baines, but he’s fearful of the menacing Mrs Baines, whom he senses doesn’t like him. In the company of his wife Baines presents as brow-beaten; but when Philip chances on a more relaxed Baines with a young woman the butler claims as his niece the seven year old is led into a web of secrets and lies, bribes and deceit that will ultimately affect his character for the rest of the six decades of his life.

Death and betrayal are the leitmotifs of these two pieces which, despite their two very different contexts, draw the reader into the narrative whether they will or no. Greene’s prefatory remarks about their realisation and relationship to the two feature films are each fascinating without giving too much away of what follows, but it’s the stories themselves which demonstrate to me why he remains so well regarded as a writer, and why I’ll be reading more of his work from now on.

[Zoeb · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was a young boy, I grew up under the shadow of my elder sister. She was four years older than me and was, despite the usual share of pampering love and affection that a younger child gets, inevitably entitled to her own share of importance and what's more, she was astute, from a relatively tender age, of the seamier, murkier side to life around her.

It was at the age of ten, for instance, when I learned what she was going through as she crossed the frontier of adolescence and the revelations disturbed me a great deal. It was a couple of years later when she told me of her first boyfriend and from then on, she told me about all her boyfriends, about the time when she first got drunk and of all the other things she had done, without our parents knowing about it. Our conversations used to be full of her secrets and my earnest promises to keep her secrets, my heart suddenly burdened with a new responsibility that it had to bear at all costs.

Because I had admired my sister, because she had worked hard at school, despite her abysmal grades, and had earned her rightful place as a doted-upon daughter in our family, because she had the rare quality of calling a spade a spade and being honest and unpretentious about it, because she never judged people and while she could be cruel to those who judged her, she would never look down upon them too. She was, in a way, my idol.

What happens when an idol falls in grace?

I think that is what this brilliant, haunting, perfectly paced story by the one and only Graham Greene tries and succeeds in answering and it is an answer that would not be too reassuring. Filmed memorably by Carol Reed, even as Greene himself tweaked the central narrative arc in a crucial aspect to make it more easily palatable for the frustratingly demanding British censors, "The Fallen Idol" is nevertheless a fascinating film, scripted with the same concise clarity as to be found in most of Greene and directed with a confident skill at nuance and emotional depth.

The story, however, was originally named "The Basement Room" and with good reason - this is a story, not only about a young boy and his flawed idol, his broken, all-too-imperfect hero "coming clean" one night about his secrets but also about class divisions and what do they represent - the green baize door, clearly belonging to Greene's own childhood, separates the clean, sanitised and scrubbed world of Phillip and the sordid, murky allegorical world of marital discord and infidelity of his hero Baines. Just what does happen when these two worlds, one harmless and frolicsome, and the other puzzling and morally grey, fuse with each other? Naturally, things go bump at night and a boy's sense of heroism and life is twisted on its head, for once and for all.

An unforgettable story, written with skill, emotion, drama, wry irony. But then, this is to be expected from Greene.

[Vanessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

Maybe this wasn't the best choice of Graham Greene to start with, but I usually think that short stories are my best best when starting with an author. Unfortunately, my first outing with Greene fell somewhat flat for me.

The Third Man is a well-known film, and the story was actually written as a precursor to the script (the idea originally being planned as a film script). Greene felt he needed to write it in story form before writing a script, and that story formed the majority of this book. I have to say that I didn't really enjoy the story that much, as it felt a little sparse and rushed in the way a film idea would I imagine normally sound. Although I've heard great things about the film, and definitely want to check it out, I didn't enjoy the story as much because I found it surprisingly difficult to follow. There were a myriad of characters, who sometimes were referred to by numerous names, and I found it hard to remember each one and remember their significance. My initial confusion as to who was narrating the story also knocked my reading a little off kilter for the majority of the story. By the time I was three quarters through, I just wanted it to end.

The Fallen Idol was actually the saving grace of this book for me, a short story meant only to be that, and thus holding a lot more impact for me. It told the story of a young boy Philip who become involved in an older couple's dark problems and games, with a frightening introduction to the adult world. It was only around 30 pages, but I found myself intensely interested in what would happen, and it was definitely a page-turner in a way that The Third Man just wasn't.

I may well check out more Graham Greene in the future, but not for a little while, as this wasn't exactly an inspiring start for me.

[Michael Perkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, if you have not seen the classic film noir, "The Third Man," with it's amazing cinematography of mystery and suspense and iconic performance by Orson Welles, then read no further. Do yourself a favor and rent it and treat yourself to one of the greatest films of all time.

If you have at least seen the movie, and preferably also read the novella (which was published a year after the film was released), then treat yourself to this brilliant analysis below comparing the two. I was attempting to look up a quote and stumbled across this excellent article. I recently saw the film again for the first time in 20 years and wanted to read the novella for additional detail. The book did not disappoint in that regard. I've known a real Harry Lime for a long time and have seen his ability to bamboozle others who did not understand who he was, or had become, at his core. Both the film and novella provided excellent insights into the Lime I know.

http://www.avclub.com/article/third-m...

[Mariya Mincheva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Малка книжка,събрала в себе си две добри истории. А тяхната история е не по-малко интересна. Грийн ги написва,като основа на сценарий за едноименния филм от 1949 г. и дълго не е имал намерение да ги публикува, но сега - когато са тук ни водят в разделената на зони следвоенна Виена, където един англичанин търси причината за странната смърт на най-добрия си приятел.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story was written as a premise to the screenplay for the movie,and the movie came out before the book....both are excellent. See the film,and then read it.....Also enjoyed THE FALLEN IDOL.

I am a Graham Greene fan!

[Julian Worker · Rating 4 out of 5]

The line about the Swiss and peace is only in the film

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a bizarre period of maybe 35 years where I thought I didn’t like Graham Greene’s writing. What a bozo. Travels with my aunt, the Stamboul train and the third man. Each time Graham Greene writes in a different style, and each time he nails it.

The third man is like a cross between Holly Roth’s The content assignment, a Maigret novel and Alexander Lernet Holenia’s Count Luna. It is superb, haunting disorienting and disconcerting.

And now I must watch the film again.

[Antonio · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5⭐

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Mike Finn]

I can see now that Grahan Green was right in his original decision not to put 'The Third Man' forward for publication as a novella.

My expectations going in were fairly low. I saw it as a preliminary sketch, made in isolation, in preparation for the collaborative creative effort of making what was to become a good movie. In effect, it’s a first-pass storyboard I didn't expect it to be so lifeless that I abandoned it at 35% because I was bored.

The structure of the storytelling is clumsy and ineffective. Having events curated by a policeman who is reflecting on his memories and who slides back and forth on the timeline doesn't work well. It keeps you out of the heads of the main players and keeps the action as passive recollections and the emotions as chewed-over summaries. I think it was meant to add mystery and foreshadowing but, for me, it just made the story ponderous.

The plot is wafer-thin. It's fairly obvious from the beginning who the third man is and what Role Martins' blind spot is. This might have been OK if I was invested in Rolo's search for the truth but he's a hard man to like. His only distinguishing features seem to be weakness and bad temper. His relationship with Lime seems to be one of suppressed homosexual attraction arising from an early, apparently abusive, relationship when he and Lime were at school together. He refers frequently to 'mixing his drinks' which seems to be a coded reference to his bisexuality. Lime, as seen from the policeman's eyes and Martins' shared memories, is a narcissist and a racketeer. Martins' is his long-time stooge. The story gives me no reason to care about Harry Lime. Martins' could have been drawn as the route-for-him-because-he's-loyal-and-grieving-for-a-friend under-dog but instead, he comes across as weak, broken men, thrashing around trying to sustain the fantasy of a relationship that he won't allow himself to see clearly.

Still, I didn't set the novella aside because I didn't like the characters or the plot. I put it aside because the prose limps along and I became bored. The whole thing is only 157 pages long. I should have read it in a day. Instead, I kept putting it down and then found myself reluctant to pick it up again.

My advice: skip this and watch the movie. If the movie really hooks you and you want to see what made it work, dip into this novella and see how far they came from this beginning.

Here's the trailer for the movie. It's worth watching for the camera work and the music, even before you add Orson Welles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9yyD...

[Mieczyslaw Kasprzyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Greene actually states that "The Third Man" was never intended to be read; it was written as a screenplay for the film and a basis on which to discuss how the plot should, or would, unfold. Despite this, it is a good read. Much of the story remains the same with only small differences here and there so we find ourselves on very familiar ground. Already, at the start, we have that sense of deja vu and yet, because it IS Greene, after all, the story maintains its hold on you and keeps you interested throughout. It is well written and you can see how strongly it influenced so much of the quick-moving atmosphere in the film. You can also see how the changes they made really were for the better but it is also very easy to note what is not there; the sounds of running in the empty square, or the hollow noises of the sewers and the roar of the water. It really is a sketch, not a full-blown work.
The short story, "The Fallen Idol", accompanied "The Third Man". This is Greene at his very best; rich language, superb attention to detail, a flowing story seen through the eyes of an interested observer. The story, of a small boy left in the care of the butler and his wife while his parents go off on holiday (with tragic results), is quite simple but enriched by the fact that we see it partly through the eyes of the child. The language Greene uses is by no means childlike. For anyone who has pretensions of becoming a writer - start here.