Anton Karas asked a stunned Karas if he would compose the music for the film. Karas protested, saying he had never actually written music. As Karas later told the story, the director insisted and invited Karas to England. The Austrian became homesick and asked to be allowed to return. Reed told him he could—as soon as he had written the music. Under this pressure Karas wrote his Harry Lime theme. The film—with the music a contributing factor—was a gigantic success, and Karas' life was changed drastically. As a result, he toured all over the world and performed for many celebrities, among them
Alexander Korda director also had careers in the film industry, often working with their elder brother. After the death of his father, Korda began writing film reviews to support his family. Korda changed his family name from Kellner to Korda—from the Latin phrase "sursum corda" which means "lift up your hearts". Korda became an important film figure through his film magazines "Pesti Mozi", "Mozihét" and "Világ". This led to invitations to write film screenplays. Korda's first film script was for "Watchhouse in the Carpathians" (1914), which he also helped direct. When the First World War broke out, Korda was excused from military