History YMMV / TheThirdMan

* MagnificentBastard: [[spoiler:Harry Lime]] is a racketeer selling black market penicillin in post-war Vienna, [[LackOfEmpathy completely untroubled by pangs of conscience]]. Calling his friend Holly Martins to Vienna, [[spoiler:Harry]] [[FakingTheDead fakes his own death]] to throw suspicion off himself, manipulating his old girlfriend Anna, as well as Holly and the police while he remains off the radar. Constantly staying a step ahead of everyone, [[spoiler:Harry]] continuously attempts to put himself back in the good graces of those he's abandoned, which keeps working thanks to his [[FauxAffablyEvil charm and pleasant demeanor]]. Never at a loss for a smile, [[spoiler:Harry]] won't hesitate to [[ItsAllAboutMe play a situation to his benefit]], no matter what.

* CompleteMonster: In this post-UsefulNotes/WorldWarII FilmNoir, [[spoiler: [[BigBadFriend Harry Lime]]]] is an amoral man who [[FakingTheDead fakes his death]] in order to escape the consequences of his misdeeds. Taking advantage of the scarcity of antibiotics, [[spoiler:Lime]] steals penicillin from hospitals and [[WateringDown dilutes it]] before selling it to the highest bidder on the black market. Several patients die from the now-lethal medication; those that survive, a majority being children, are subject to illnesses. When Holly Martins confronts him, [[spoiler: Lime]] attempts to [[HeKnowsTooMuch kill him]], only to relent when informed that the authorities knew that his death was faked. A chilling sociopath who views everyone around him as a pawn to exploit, [[spoiler: Lime]] is willing to sentence several people to a [[CruelAndUnusualDeath painful death]], [[{{Greed}} as long as he benefits]].

* CompleteMonster: In this post-UsefulNotes/WorldWarII FilmNoir, [[spoiler: [[BigBadFriend Harry Lime]]]] is an amoral man who [[FakingTheDead fakes his death]] in order to escape the consequences of his misdeeds. Taking advantage of the scarcity of antibiotics, Lime steals penicillin from hospitals and [[WateringDown dilutes it]] before selling it to the highest bidder on the black market. Several patients die from the now-lethal medication; those that survive, a majority being children, are subject to illnesses. When Holly Martins confronts him, [[spoiler: Lime]] attempts to [[HeKnowsTooMuch kill him]], only to relent when informed that the authorities knew that his death was faked. A chilling sociopath who views everyone around him as a pawn to exploit, [[spoiler: Lime]] is willing to sentence several people to a [[CruelAndUnusualDeath painful death]], [[{{Greed}} as long as he benefits]].

* MagnificentBastard: Harry Lime is a racketeer selling black market penicillin in post-war Vienna, [[LackOfEmpathy completely untroubled by pangs of conscience]]. Calling his friend Holly Martins to Vienna, Harry [[FakingTheDead fakes his own death]] to throw suspicion off himself, manipulating his old girlfriend Anna, as well as Holly and the police while he remains off the radar. Constantly staying a step ahead of everyone, Harry continuously attempts to put himself back in the good graces of those he's abandoned, which keeps working thanks to his [[FauxAffablyEvil charm and pleasant demeanor]]. Never at a loss for a smile, Harry won't hesitate to [[ItsAllAboutMe play a situation to his benefit]], no matter what.

** For younger fans, Harry Lime and his popularity reminds them of no one less than Darth Vader from ''Franchise/StarWars''. A villain who [[EvilIsCool is cool]], who gets the audience [[RootingForTheEmpire to root]] for him and [[DracoInLeatherPants sympathize]] with him, who is also a FallenHero who comes to blows with his best friend, and who despite his death spawns a spin-off franchise dealing with his origins. That's true for both Lime and later Vader, complete with a spin-off radio show and a number of novels, which are prequels dealing with his adventures before ''The Third Man'' showing how he went from the relatively decent man Holly Martins remembered to the scoundrel we see in the movie. Lime also tries to get Holly to join him by preaching his own amoral philosophy much like Vader does to Luke. The fact that Welles was one of Lucas' first choices for Vader's voice is likely not an accident, and Lucas probably wanted to tap into Welles' ability to make evil characters interesting and fun to watch.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: A lot of people have pointed out that the ''Third Man Theme'' sounds a lot like the music featured in ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants''.

** Only not ''that'' much older. The "cuckoo clock" speech quoted at the top is the most famous line from the movie. What most people don't realize (even though it's [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]]) is that Harry Lime is actually ''quoting'' someone. "As the fella says..." Who's the "fella"? UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill. (Yeah, not one of [[NobleBigot Churchill's]] more inspiring quotes.)

* PoorMansSubstitute: Alida Valli is very reminiscent of Creator/IngridBergman in this film, to the point that some people mistakenly think Bergman played Anna. Not accidental: David O. Selznick signed her to a contract specifically because he thought she was the next Bergman. Of course eventually she became recognized as a very good actress in Italian films, and a very good character actress in her later career.

** The final shot of the film with Alida Valli walking past Holly Martins. This visual motif became widely copied and homaged over the decades.

* TheWoobie: Anna Schmidt is so sad and pathetic that even the sad and pathetic Holly Martins can't stop himself from falling in love with her. It's noteworthy that her theme is the only piece of music in the movie that ISN'T SoundtrackDissonance. It's full on SAD.

* AwesomeMusic: Anton Karas' zither-based score, most notably the title theme (which went on to spend 11 weeks at #1 on the ''Billboard'' chart).

* DirectorDisplacement: In the years after its release, Creator/OrsonWelles was sometimes held to have erroneously directed parts or whole of this film, a fact which he denied every time it was brought up, clarifying that he only contributed to the "cuckoo-clock" speech. The reason for the confusion is that, even aside from playing the title character and having the best lines and scenes, ''The Third Man'' is visually very much inspired by ''Film/CitizenKane'' and ''Film/TheLadyFromShanghai'', and its {{Chiarascuro}} laden black-and-white cinematography is quite Wellesian. The story with its theme of broken friendships and betrayals is common to Welles' movies as well. The major difference is the extensive location shooting in real-life post-war Vienna, which was inspired by ItalianNeorealism and something that Welles wasn't known for at that time or afterwards, on account of the fact that it was really expensive and way beyond Welles' low-budget resources.

* DirectorDisplacement: Creator/OrsonWelles would have been the first to deny that he directed the film and give credit to Carol Reed.

* DracoInLeatherPants: Harry Lime turned out to be so popular that he got his own RadioDrama series (''The Lives of Harry Lime'') starring Creator/OrsonWelles himself. In the 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 Creator/OrsonWelles.

** Welles' ''Film/MrArkadin'' was a spin-off of the radio show and recast Lime as a slimeball {{Expy}} called Guy Van Stratten with himself in the title

* OlderThanTheyThink: Only not ''that'' much older. The "cuckoo clock" speech quoted at the top is the most famous line from the movie. What most people don't realize (even though it's [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]]) is that Harry Lime is actually ''quoting'' someone. "As the fella says..." Who's the "fella"? UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill. (Yeah, not one of [[NobleBigot Churchill's]] more inspiring quotes.)

* PoorMansSubstitute: Alida Valli is very reminiscent of Creator/IngridBergman in this film, to the point that some people mistakenly think Bergman played Anna. Not accidental: David O. Selznick signed her to a contract specifically because he thought she was the next Bergman.
* SignatureScene: The Ferris wheel.

* EvilIsSexy: You got a DracoInLeatherPants, of course people are into him.

* AwardSnub: Although the film took home a much-deserved Oscar win for Cinematography (as well as nominations for Director and Editing), neither Crator/OrsonWelles' performance nor the iconic zither score were nominated.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: A lot of people have pointed out that the ''Third Man Theme'' sounds a lot like the music featured in WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants.

* ItWasHisSled: Come on, even the posters spoil it.

* MagnificentBastard: Harry Lime, natch.

* MisaimedFandom: There are people who root for ''Lime''.

* CompleteMonster: In this post-UsefulNotes/WorldWarII FilmNoir, [[BigBadFriend Harry Lime]] is an amoral man who [[FakingTheDead fakes his death]] in order to escape the consequences of his misdeeds. Taking advantage of the scarcity of antibiotics, Lime steals penicillin from hospitals and [[WateringDown dilutes it]] before selling it to the highest bidder on the black market. Several patients die from the now-lethal medication; those that survive, a majority being children, are subject to illnesses. When Holly Martins confronts him, Lime attempts to [[HeKnowsTooMuch kill him]], only to relent when informed that the authorities knew that his death was faked. A chilling sociopath who views everyone around him as a pawn to exploit, Lime is willing to sentence several people to a [[CruelAndUnusualDeath painful death]], [[{{Greed}} as long as he benefits]].

* NeutralEvil: Harry Lime is an AffablyEvil and [[MagnificentBastard charismatic]] example of this alignment.

* CompleteMonster: In this post-UsefulNotes/WorldWarII FilmNoir, [[BigBadFriend Harry Lime]] is an amoral man who fakes his death in order to escape the consequences of his misdeeds. Taking advantage of the scarcity of antibiotics, Lime steals penicillin from hospitals and dilutes it before selling it to the highest bidder on the black market. Several patients die from the now-lethal medication; those that survive, a majority being children, are subject to illnesses. When Holly Martins confronts him, Lime attempts to [[HeKnowsTooMuch kill him]], only to relent when informed that the authorities knew that his death was faked. A chilling sociopath who views everyone around him as a pawn to exploit, Lime is willing to sentence several people to a [[CruelAndUnusualDeath painful death]], [[{{Greed}} as long as he benefits]].

* OlderThanTheyThink: Only not ''that'' much older. The "cuckoo clock" speech quoted at the top is the most famous line from the movie. What most people don't realize (even though it's [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]]) is that Harry Lime is actually ''quoting'' someone. "As the fella says..." Who's the "fella"? WinstonChurchill. (Yeah, not one of [[NobleBigot Churchill's]] more inspiring quotes.)

* CompleteMonster: Harry Lime steals penicillin from hospitals in post-World War II Vienna, waters it down to the point of uselessness in order to make it go farther, 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, go insane and die painfully. All this happens and Lime doesn't even feel any remorse.

* HeartwarmingMoment: Of the meta variety. Graham Greene and Carol Reed battled over how the film should end. Decades later, Greene admitted, "Carol Reed was right... he made a ''magnificent'' ending."

* AwardSnub: Although the film took home a much-deserved Oscar win for Cinematography (as well as nominations for Director and Editing), neither Orson Welles' performance nor the iconic zither score were nominated.

* DracoInLeatherPants: Harry Lime turned out to be so popular that he got his own RadioDrama series (''The Lives of Harry Lime'') starring Orson Welles himself. In the 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.

** Welles' 1955 film ''Mr. Arkadin'' was a spin-off of the radio show and recast Lime as a slimeball {{Expy}} called Guy Van Stratten with himself in the title

** Welles' 1955 film ''Mr. Arkadin'' was a spin-off of the radio show and recast Lime as a slimeball {{Expy}} called Guy Van Stratten with himself in the title role.
* EarWorm: That music...