the third man refers to another witness to a crime that no one seem to know anything about . the crime of course be the hit and run murder of harry lime play by orson welles . but be welles dead . one of the thing i like about the third man be that it make a nominal hero out of one of the big bungler ever put on screen . let just say that if holly martins play by joseph cotten be bump into furniture on top of everything else and he would be inspector clouseau . holly arrive in occupied vienna in the late forty at the invitation of an old college classmate harry lime . literally upon arrive in vienna and martin learn that his friend lime be the victim of a hit and run accident and the funeral be go on at that moment . he go to the funeral and be smite by lime girlfriend and alida valli . martin be a writer of western story and it bad when a writer start believe he one of his own hero . maybe jessica fletcher be capable of it and but not holly martins . martin decide to start his own investigation into lime death much to the consternation of the british occupying force which do it own inquiry . trevor howard play major callaway of the british army in charge of the investigation . martin turn out to be right that there be something more afoot than a simple traffic accident . but he so terribly wrong about everything and everyone else it be frighten . i really can not say more at this point . someone read the plot description i have give might think the third man be some kind of comedy and but it be not . it be in fact one of the most finely craft drama ever put on the screen . the location photography in vienna be fabulous and contribute so much to the authenticity of the story and it character . joseph cotten give one of his best performance a the bull in the china shop amateur detective . a for orson welles and it a virtual tie in my opinion with compulsion for the distinction of his fine performer a an actor without work for director orson welles . harry lime turn out to be the harbinger of a cynical age we be enter . and if nothing else grab you about the third man and that theme on the zither will stay with you forever . definitely one of the ten best known movie score ever .