The Third Man records had been sold in Britain, with the teen-aged Princess Margaret a reported fan. Following its release in the US in 1950 (see 1950 in music), ""The Third Man" Theme" spent 11 weeks at number one on "Billboard"s US Best Sellers in Stores chart, from 29 April to 8 July. The exposure made Anton Karas an international star, and the trailer for the film stated that "the famous musical score by Anton Karas" would have the audience "in a dither with his zither". Academy Awards British Academy Film Awards Cannes Film Festival Directors Guild of America National Board of Review
Alexander Korda advent of World War Two saw Korda make more propaganda films. They included "Q Planes" (1939) with Olivier and "The Lion Has Wings" (1939). Korda had a massive hit with another Imperial adventure directed by Zoltan, "The Four Feathers" (1939). By 1939, Michael Powell had been hired as a contract director by Korda on the strength of "The Edge of the World". Korda set him to work on some projects such as "Burmese Silver" that were subsequently cancelled. Nonetheless, Powell was brought in to save a film that was being made as a vehicle for two of Korda's star players,