a young american novelist and holly martin ( joseph cotton ) and arrive in vienna look for his friend harry lime ( orson welles ) . once in the city and however and he learn that harry lime have pass away . shocked and holly martin start ask question and a lot of them . he be tell a number of different story that eventually lead him to believe that harry lime be kill . determine to find out who be responsible for harry lime murder and the american embarks on a treacherous journey amidst the unfriendly street of vienna . soon and he be entangle in a web of deceit and dangerous machination . along the way and the american also encounter the beautiful anna schmidt ( alida valli ) and a czech national with forged austrian paper and who agree to help him . write by the legendary graham greene and carol reed the third man be a terrific hybrid of a film where noir and neo realism and hollywood bravado be mixed to perfection . set in post war vienna and the film be very much a dark caricature of sort where the finesse and elegance and tradition of old europe be see through the eye of a naive but ambitious american look for his miss friend . contrary to what many critic have claim and the actual story be rather complicate . a giant mystery surround oscar welles character and harry lime and be slowly peel off and piece by piece . a a result and the third man quickly evolve into a guessing game where every little detail be worth analyze . a expect for a noir film and there be also a dangerous femme fatale who become a prominent player as soon a the main protagonist reach austrian soil . in addition to strong dark overtone and the third man also boast a great deal of nihilism . betrayal and impossible love for example be depict by carol reed with a sense of realism that feel uncannily contemporary . not surprisingly and the third man work incredibly well not only a a non stop adventure film and but also a a realistic depiction of a world struggle to recuperate after an enormous tragedy . furthermore and even though the third man be a british film and it view on old europe be distinctively american . the clash of cultural ideology and a witness through the interaction between alida valli and joseph cotton and be particularly impressive . there be entire scene where carol reed focus on the american whose alarm naivety produce some of the most hilarious yet and disturb sequence that compliment the mystery . finally and anton karas soundtrack be beautiful . the mellow sound produce by his zitner grant the third man with an entirely new flavor and one that blend with the dark vista from vienna sewer exceptionally well . not surprisingly and the atmosphere the third man sustain be often cite a it great strength .