History YMMV / TheThirdMan

* MagnumOpus: Easily Carol Reed's most recognizable film. However, slightly subverted. Due to how heavily Orson Welles' performance has played into the film's legacy, some mistakenly believe that ''Welles'' directed it instead.

* OneSceneWonder: Orson Welles appears onscreen for less than 10 minutes; nonetheless, he is the most remembered part of this film. Welles was conscious of this and later explained in in interview with Peter Bogdanovich that it was an old theatre convention, citing "Mr. Wu" where most of the plot revolves around describing Mr. Wu and then Mr. Wu makes a grand entry and the audience says, "Mr. Wu gives a great performance!".

* OneSceneWonder: Orson Welles appears onscreen for less than 10 minutes; nonetheless, he is the most remembered part of this film. Welles was conscious of it, later telling Peter Bogdanovich that it was an old theatre convention, citing "Mr. Wu" where most of the plot revolves around describing Mr. Wu and then Mr. Wu makes a grand entry and the audience says, "Mr. Wu gives a great performance!".

* OneSceneWonder: Orson Welles appears less than 10 minutes on screen; nonetheless, he is the most remembered part of it. Welles was conscious of it, he told Peter Bogdanovich that it was an old theatre convention, citing "Mr. Wu" where most of the plot revolves around describing Mr. Wu and then Mr. Wu makes a grand entry and the audience says, "Mr. Wu gives a great performance!".

* MagnumOpus: Easily Carol Reed's most recognizable film. However, slightly subverted. Due to how heavily Orson Welles' performance has played into the film's legacy, some mistakenly believe that he directed it instead.

* DracoInLeatherPants: Harry Lime turned out to be so popular that he got his own radio drama (''The Lives of Harry Lime'') starring Orson Welles himself. In the radio series, which was obviously set prior to the events of the film, Lime was more of a LovableRogue than a MagnificentBastard. And besides, EvilIsSexy when it's Orson Welles.

* DracoInLeatherPants: Harry Lime turned out to be so popular that he got his own radio drama starring Orson Welles himself. In the radio series, which was obviously set prior to the events of the film, Lime was more of a LovableRogue than a MagnificentBastard. And besides, EvilIsSexy when it's Orson Welles.

* DracoInLeatherPants: Harry Lime turned out to be so popular that he got his own radio drama starring Orson Welles himself. In the radio series, which was obviously set prior to the events of the film, Lime was more of a LovableRogue than a MagnificentBastard. And besides, it's Orson Welles, so EvilIsSexy.
** Even more so in the 1950's television adaptation, where Michael "[[Film/TheDayTheEarthStoodStill1951 Klaatu]]" Rennie played him as an urbane English hero! The spin-offs tended to make Lime LighterAndSofter.
** Orson Welles' film ''Mr. Arkadin'' was a spin-off the radio show and recast Harry Lime as a slimeball {{Expy}} called Guy Van Stratten with himself in the title role.

* DracoInLeatherPants: Harry Lime turned out to be so popular that he got his own radio drama starring Orson Welles himself. In the radio series, which is obviously set prior to the events of the film, Lime was more of a LovableRogue than a MagnificentBastard. And besides, it's Orson Welles, so EvilIsSexy.

* DracoInLeatherPants: Harry Lime turned out to be so popular that he got his own radio drama starring Orson Welles himself. In the radio drama he was more of a LovableRogue than a MagnificentBastard. And besides, OrsonWelles, so EvilIsSexy

* CompleteMonster: Harry Lime steals penicillin from hospitals in post-World War II Vienna, waters it down so that it is useless, and sells it back to the open market. It's saying something when the lucky ones are those who merely die from the now-lethal medicine: many people, including children, are driven insane and die painfully. All this happens and Lime doesn't even feel any remorse.

* DracoInLeatherPants: Harry Lime turned out to be so popular that he got his own radio drama starring Orson Welles himself. Of course, in the radio drama he was more of a LovableRogue than a MagnificentBastard. And besides, OrsonWelles, so EvilIsSexy

** Even more so in the 1950's television adaptation, where Michael "[[Film/TheDayTheEarthStoodStill1951 Klaatu]]" Rennie played him as an urbane English hero!

* OneSceneWonder: Orson Welles appears less than 10 minutes on screen; nonetheless, he is the most remembered part of it.

* RealitySubtext: Graham Greene used to work for British Intelligence in WW2, where his boss and friend was the DoubleAgent Kim Philby. It's been speculated that Lime (a charismatic yet amoral friend secretly working for Soviet Intelligence) reflected underlying suspicions Graham had of Philby. In a particular irony, after Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean fled to Moscow to escape arrest, Philby fell under suspicion of being "the third man" in their spy ring.
* SceneryPorn / SceneryGorn: The production put a genuine and bombed-out Vienna to good use. About the only scenes outside of interior shots not shot actually on location were the scenes in the Vienna sewers (which were off limits to filming for a host of logistical, legal and safety reasons).

* RealitySubtext: Graham Greene used to work for British Intelligence in WW2, where his boss and friend was the DoubleAgent Kim Philby. It's been speculated that Lime (a charismatic yet amoral friend secretly working for Soviet Intelligence) reflected underlying suspicions Graham had of Philby.

* RealitySubtext: Graham Greene used to work for British Intelligence in WW2, where his boss and friend was the DoubleAgent Kim Philby. There's been some speculation that Graham's creation of Lime (a charismatic yet amoral friend secretly working for Soviet Intelligence) reflected underlying suspicions of his friend.

* RealitySubtext: When Graham Greene used to work for the British Intelligence service in WW2, his boss and friend was the DoubleAgent Kim Philby. There's been some speculation that Graham's creation of Lime (a charismatic yet amoral friend secretly working for Soviet Intelligence) reflected underlying suspicions of his friend.

* CompleteMonster: Calloway certainly thinks Lime is this; Anna doesn't, or at least doesn't care; and Martins is caught between the two.

* SceneryPorn/SceneryGorn: The production put a genuine and bombed-out Vienna to good use. About the only scenes outside of interior shots not shot actually on location were the scenes in the Vienna sewers (which were off limits to filming for a host of logistical, legal and safety reasons).

** Even more so in the 1950's television adaptation, where Michael "[[TheDayTheEarthStoodStill Klaatu]]" Rennie played him as an urbane English hero!