The Third Man Theme The Third Man Theme "The Third Man Theme" (also known as "The Harry Lime Theme") is an instrumental written and performed by Anton Karas for the soundtrack to the 1949 film "The Third Man". "The Third Man" is a 1949 British film noir, directed by Carol Reed. One night after a long day of filming "The Third Man" on location in Vienna, Reed and cast members Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli and Orson Welles had dinner and retired to a wine cellar. In the bistro, which retained the atmosphere of the pre-war days, they heard the zither music of Anton Karas,
Paul Korda his early career Korda began playing the Soho folk club, Les Cousins, alongside other friends, Sandy Denny and Cat Stevens. Cat Stevens and Korda became close friends and in between recording sessions would often check out the London nightlife together. In 1967 Korda was signed as a songwriter to Rolling Stones producer Andrew Loog Oldham's Immediate Records publishing company and went on to write for P.P. Arnold for her single "The Time Has Come". The song made the UK charts, and the Italian version "Se Perdo Te", recorded by Patty Pravo, reached No. 18 in Italy. Korda, like so many