I expected much more from this film, as usually they claim it to be a classic movie, one of the best in history of cinema etc. But in my opinion it isn't. It has too many shortcomings. First of all -- the music is totally inappropriate for such a thriller, it is mocking and amusing, which does not fit with the whole story at all. It makes it all look like a light-hearted comedy, not to be taken seriously. The dialogues are presented in a mechanical, artificial way: normal people do not respond so quickly to surprising and unknown information. The plot fixes too much attention to the girl, rather than to the complex and confused story. The good things are the cinematography and the atmosphere of postwar Vienna, where the action takes place, but even they should have been given more attention.

All is absurd. The war is over, Vienna is in ruins, and the black market reigns. The Allies have divided the city into zones, and the long reach of the Soviets is beginning to assert itself. When a pulp fiction writer (Joseph Cotten) arrives looking for his friend but finds he's died under what seem like suspicious circumstances, he doesn't know who to trust. His friend's associates are shady, and the authorities uncaring. Morality itself also seems to be in ruins.Strong direction from Carol Reed, excellent cinematography Robert Krasker, and a musical score from Anton Karas based entirely on the zither make for a unique, and very good film. Cotten, Alida Valli (the girlfriend), and Trevor Howard (the investigating major) all turn in solid performances, but it's Orson Welles who is absolutely brilliant, though his role is smaller. His acting is fantastic in the scene at the top of the Ferris wheel, where, among other things, he comments so blithely on doing harm to his fellow man by saying "Victims? Don't be melodramatic. Look down there. Tell me, would you really feel any pity if one of those dots stopped moving forever? If I offered you twenty thousand pounds for every dot that stopped, would you really, old man, tell me to keep my money, or would you calculate how many dots you could afford to spare? Free of income tax, old man. Free of income tax - the only way you can save money nowadays."It's the rationalization of evil, made easier when done from a distance, which is truly horrifying. Hitler had just been defeated after almost unimaginable sacrifice and human cost, a real triumph, and yet, evil is still alive and well with humanity.The existential absurdity of it all is accentuated with frequent camera shots which are tilted at odd angles, and that zany zither music. To be honest, I'm still not sure how I feel about the music. At times it seemed to provide a nice counterpoint to the action, such as a chase scene through dark streets, highlighting how crazy this nightmare of a situation is, and at other times, it seems comically wacky, and out of place in a noir film.The film is a little methodical in the first hour, but I thought the dry dialog was stylish, and loved the shadows and street scenes. The international flavor and hearing German was nice. Even if you suspect who Welles might be when he shows up, I believe the film effectively wrong foots us, in the sense of who is evil in this story. It turns out that it may just be your old chum, the biggest nightmare of all. It also wrong foots us with that ending, which Reed had to fight for, and which is outstanding.

As a film-noir fan I though to myself this might be one of the best settings: Post-war Vienna with bombed buildings, a multinational police force by the occupying countries, investigation on black market dealings, foreign languages and accents all around. The main actor: an American who doesn't speak German, who learns his friend died in a mysterious accident. But sadly they failed to use this setting and the premise to create suspense for almost the entire movie. It's not the cinematography's fault, which is excellent: Long shadows on Vienna's places while people are being chased. Hm, but something seems off about it. They thought let's put it in traditional Austrian music for the soundtrack, well, because it's Vienna. But this is the kind of cheerful music that fits when you're strolling through the streets in bright daylight with a smile on your face and a lady in your arms. It certainly is the wrong choice for a supposedly suspenseful foot chase. Or when you surprisingly see your presumed dead friend across the street. Or while you're in a children's hospital. Or when people are digging at a graveyard at night and reveal who the "third man" was. It kills all mood in a black and white thriller and becomes almost absurdly comical. I guess they felt eager to try out new things. Thank god they dropped it when Orson Welles showed up and they talked eye to eye on the Ferris wheel. Great acting. Another great scene was the chase in the sewer. This redeemed the movie a bit. But after thinking about it I noticed there are plot holes. The soundtrack achieved at least one thing: it distracted me enough to not think about the plot too much.

(Flash Review)Great dark and gritty cinematography take center stage in this classic Film Noir. Laced with tilted cinematography, it helps to accentuate the shady story of who's telling the truth or not. The plot is a little hard to follow in portions but a novelist arrives in Vienna, Italy to meet up with a friend, who upon his arrival learns has been murdered. The novelist decides to do his own sleuthing to find out what really happened. Orson Welles is great as usual; such a distinctive voice. There are many shadowy shots of Vienna at night including a full exploration their sewer system. Haha. This film had one of the best main character reveals I've ever seen. Main character reveals are usually very stylish and intelligent so you know that character is important. The music score started off very fitting to the location but became overly redundant and distracting at points.