"The Third Man" was co-produced by David O. Selznick and Korda, with the American actors Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten in two of the leading roles. Reed insisted on casting Welles as Harry Lime, although Selznick had wanted Noël Coward for the role. The film required six weeks of location work in Vienna, during which time it was Reed himself who accidentally discovered Anton Karas, the zither player responsible for the film's music, in a courtyard outside a small Viennese restaurant.