In Search of The Third Man

by Charles Drazin

Half a century after its opening, The Third Man remains an unquestioned masterpiece of film artistry and, for many, the greatest British movie ever made. Whether it is Harry Lime's magical first appearance or the celebrated cuckoo clock speech or the climactic chase through the sewers beneath Vienna or the haunting theme music of Anton Karas, the film contains some of the most memorable moments in screen history. Drawing on both contemporary documents and accounts of the people involved, In Search of The Third Man explores the many myths that over the years have grown around this extraordinary film, and seeks to unravel the facts from the fiction.



“...you'll want to read The Third Man...The story of the film's creation is as intriguing as the film itself” –Leonard Maltin, Playboy

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Media Tie In, History

242 pages, Paperback

First published August 12, 1999

Reviews

[Mieczyslaw Kasprzyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a biography, a biography of one of the greatest films ever made.
I used to use stills from "The Third Man" to demonstrate how to use composition and lighting in a composition, and I believe that many art and photography students could learn a lot even today. It's stunning, slightly unbalanced images and the haunting notes of that zipher are unmistakeable. The shots of a ruined, post-War Vienna, above ground and below, create unforgettable images.
It's all there, the arguments, the magic, the handling of Prima Donnas and alcoholics. You discover the amazing skills of the cameramen and the editors who actually created this magnificent work of art. You will never see the film the same way again.
Wonderful.

[Drew Raley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Episodic and monogrammatic in structure, Drazin's book manages to isolate the core elements in play during the making of the Extraordinary Third Man in Venice and London. Disputes between American and British producers are laid bare in their respectively obtuse and sprightly contretemps during the entire process. Also, Joseph Cotten was surly that he was forced to teetotal it in a hotel room with his long-suffering wife while the cast and crew imbibed all throughout Vienna; Orson Welles was kidnapped not once, but twice to force him onto the set to fulfill his contract; the entire film can be read as a surreptitious coded account of Kim Philby's infamous betrayal of the SIS; and most happily, Drazin reasserts the position of Carol Reed as the Supreme Arbiter of taste-making as well as filmmaking, allowing his direction and ownership of its successes a center ring, while pretenders like Selznick and Welles can no longer support their claims to the film's mastery. The book feels as if a plethora of disparate facets of the film are lashed together without a true sense of flow; indeed, it would work better if its single-subject chapters had been broken apart and intermingled with a sense of logic absent in the final product. However, its best attributes are in its empathy for Carol Reed and how his unique personality is at the heart of The Third Man's success. Recommended.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book probably has more than you need to know about the making of The Third Man than you would want to know. The opening chapters are wonderful, and the story of the zither player, Karas, and the theme song that takes the world by storm is incredible. The last few chapters go a little further astray especially when Drazin tries to equate Harry Lime with Greene friend Kim Philby. But getting the truth about Orson Welles's contribution and participation was fascinating. For anyone interested in international movie making in the late forties and fifties, or if you're just interested in learning more about one of the great films, this is a wonderful book.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely detailed account of the creation, development, shooting, and afterlife of this iconic film. Given the personalities and egos involved (Greene, Korda, Selznick, Welles), the movie should have been a disaster; that Carol Reed turned it into one of the great films of all time makes for a fascinating read. The stories of Selznick's Benzedrine- induced "ideas", the fighting over the casting, and Welles' elusiveness are particularly interesting.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since "The Third Man" for many years has been my favorite film (of the 5,000 or so that I have seen), and since this is an interesting and well-written book on the making of my favorite film, I must praise this book unreservedly. I intend to read it again in a few years!

[Martin Raybould · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched and thorough study of my all time favorite movie. Drazin is scholarly but what I most like about this book is that it is written by a man with is clearly as huge a fan of the movie as I am.

[Moe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good but it did have some padding

[Kyle Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific book about a terrific movie.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a thorough, well-written, book about various aspects of the famous film - easy to read and filled with wonderful details about the production, starting from the idea concept, the book, the back and forth of screenplay development and so forth. It's really a fun look into what went into the production, how the film was partially shot on location and partially at a studio in London, and so forth - so that replica locations had to be constructed at the studio etc.

Here are a few quotes:

"At the start of the [twentieth] century [Vienna] ... was one of the world's great cosmopolitan cities, capital of the Hapsburg Empire which had endured for over 600 years."

"In the heyday of the woman's picture, when the big female starts were actresses like Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, it was rarely enough in a Hollywood picture just to be pretty."

'The irony is that probably "The Third Man" wouldn't have been nearly such a satire of the "American Way' if Greene and Reed hadn't had to deal with Selznick. Just working with him would inevitably have set off a lot of ideas about interfering Americans."

"The British introduction opens up the imagination; the American one closes it down. ... ...the vast gulf between British irony and the Hollywood need for clarity and reassurance."

"...the kind of myth-making that once turned thieves and gunmen into the Wild West heroes that Holly Martins wrote about in his novels."

"In an introduction to Philby's memoirs, Greene would write: 'Like many Catholics who, in the reign of Elizabeth, worked for the victory of Spain, Philby has a chilling certainty in the correctness of his judgement, the logical fanaticism of a man who, having once found a faith, is not going to lose it because of the injustices or cruelties inflicted by erring human instruments.'"

"It's hard to be generous to your fellow-men when they have tripped you up and taken pleasure in your embarrassment."

[Jean-françois Baillon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit that I never understood why "The Third Man" was n° 1 in the BFI's 100 Best British Films List. I'd rather put "Lawrence of Arabia" first but nobody cared to ask my opinion, I still wonder why as well. Having said that this is the definitive book on what is nevertheless one of the five or ten best British films ever without dispute although I wonder whether it is my personal favourite among Reed's formidable output (at the end of the day perhaps it is after all) and certainly I would at least rank one or two (or three) Powell and Pressburger films higher. All the same, this book is one of the most thorough studies on a single film you are likely to come across in a lifetime. Anything you want to know about the film is sure to be in the book, and if it is not in the book, then you don't want to know about it or it is not worth knowing about. And it is very well-written, which I wouldn't say about every book-length study of a single film.

[Sidney, uh, Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this to prepare for a podcast roundtable I've arranged to discuss the film, and I was glad to spend so much time finding out background details. Hilarious too, that when I watched the film for the second time in one week, this time with commentary by Steven Soderbergh and Tony Gilroy, that Soderbergh had also read Drazin's book and referred to its anecdotes regularly in his comments. Hah!

Nice backstory, well-paced for the most part. But the actual text has some issues, including some oddly Eurocentric assertions and a rather unnecessary amount of criticizing and belittling Alfred Hitchcock, of all people. Strange.

This has been sitting on my shelf for something like three or four years, though, (got it for £3 in a charity shop sometime) so I'm glad to finally open it up, and finish it in 3 days!

[Achtung Englander · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book about the making of the film The Third Man. Drazin has done some excellent research, unfortunately he does bring some of his "opinions" into the proceedings like having a go at Alfred Hitchcock and his religious sentiments he shares with Carol Reed (who cares!).

It was towards the end of the book that Drazin, for me, lost a star, as he delved into matters beyond the film such as whether Kim Philby was the inspiration for the "Third Man" and mini-biographies of Carol Reed and Grahame Green which would felt a bit like a filler.

The book is pretty slim, coming at just under 200 pages, but there is a wealth of detail here for fans of the film. Personally I think the book should have been added with the LE of the 4K Blu Ray that came out in 2024. Anyway.....

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating!

Admittedly, The Third Man may be my favorite film of all time. This book is the perfect companion. It covers all facets of the making of the movie and there are discussions about Carol Reed and Graham Greene. It clears up some myths associated with the film. Highly recommended!

[Rich Rosell · Rating 3 out of 5]

For as perfect of a film that 'The Third Man' is one might think there would be more books written about it. This one does a decent job covering the production history, which on its own is pretty fascinating.

Plenty of time spent on the tug-of-war between David Selznick, Carol Reed and Graham Greene.

If you are a fan of 'The Third Man' there is much to learn here.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is great, filled with trivia about the making of the film. Drazin adds his astute comments to explore how this film rises to the top of everyone's list.

After I made a YouTube video about this film someone suggested Drazin's book to me.

My video about The Third Man
https://youtu.be/3UTBQbPtxxM

[Craig Stoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative about the inspiration, development, production and release of the great film. Great for anyone that loves the film and wants to know more about it.

[Jeff Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came to re-read ‘In Search of The Third Man’ after booking a holiday to Vienna; I was surprised at first that I had originally given the book 4-stars, which seemed very generous. However, it had been years since buying it on its release in paperback, so looked forward to returning to the bombed out streets of Vienna, where a fantastic grouping of talent got together to make on the greatest films of all time.

I could barely have been happier – this book really is fabulous. Packed with detail and careful research, it adds real insight into the development, making of and response to the film. It also carries the passion that the author clearly has, whilst maintaining a critical eye.

Excellent read – can’t wait for the trip!

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars