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 The scheme ended after one year, one film and a £1million loss to MGM. The only film to come out of the deal was "Perfect Strangers" (1945) directed by Korda and with Robert Donat and Deborah Kerr, which was popular. Via London Films, Korda bought a controlling interest in British Lion Films. He produced "A Man About the House" (1947). In 1948, Korda received an advance payment of £375,000, the largest single payment received by a British film company, for three movies, "An Ideal Husband" (1947) (which Korda directed), "Anna Karenina" (1948) and "Mine Own Executioner" (1948). The company released