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 María Corda, who could not make the transition because of her strong accent. From 1930, Korda was active in the British film industry, and soon became one of its leading figures. He was the founder of London Films and, post-war, the owner of British Lion Films, a film distribution company. Korda was the first filmmaker to have been granted a knighthood. The elder brother of Zoltan and Vincent, Alexander Korda was born as Sándor László Kellner in Pusztatúrpásztó, Austria-Hungary. Born into a Jewish family, his parents were Henrik Kellner and Ernesztina Weisz. Zoltan, a film director and Vincent, an art