Line #23 YMMV/TheThirdMan


1	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Crabbin discloses that he is good friends with Popescu, but there is no confirmation if Crabbin is a willing accomplice in the [[spoiler:penicillin operation]] or just an UnwittingPawn who knows nothing of Popescu's connections.
2	* AwardSnub: Although the film took home a much-deserved UsefulNotes/AcademyAward win for Cinematography (as well as nominations for Director and Editing), neither Creator/OrsonWelles' performance nor the iconic zither score were nominated. It was also snubbed for Best Picture, while Creator/JosephCotten wasn't nominated for Best Actor and Creator/{{Graham Greene\|Author}} wasn't up for Adapted Screenplay.
3	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Anton Karas' zither-based score, most notably the title theme (which went on to spend 11 weeks at #1 on the ''Billboard'' chart).
4	* CompleteMonster: [[spoiler:[[TheChessmaster 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 BlackMarket. Several patients die from the now-lethal medication; those that survive, a majority being children, are subject to illnesses that have a high chance of leaving them physically or mentally debilitated for life. 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 painful death, as long as he benefits.]]
5	* 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 {{Chiaroscuro}} 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.
6	* DracoInLeatherPants:
7	** 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.
8	** Even more so in the 1950s television adaptation, where Michael "[[Film/TheDayTheEarthStoodStill1951 Klaatu]]" Rennie played him as an urbane English hero! The spin-offs tended to make Lime LighterAndSofter.
9	** 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 role precisely because Welles wanted to take apart the Lime character whose fandom he found unhealthy.
10	* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments: The Porter saying that Harry is either in Hell, points upwards, or in Heaven, points downward.
11	* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: Of the meta variety. Creator/{{Graham Greene\|Author}} and Creator/CarolReed battled over how the film should end. Decades later, Greene admitted, "Carol Reed was right... he made a ''magnificent'' ending."
12	* HilariousInHindsight: Eric Pohlmann, who plays a waiter, later appears as TheDragon in the James Bond/film noir parody ''Film/CarryOnSpying'', as the Fat Man, which debatably is a character reference to this movie, albeit InNameOnly.
13	* HomegrownHero: [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig-zagged]], as the American protagonist being out of luck in post-war Vienna is very much a deconstruction of this trope - with the British deuteragonist however, not nearly so much.
14	* ItWasHisSled:
15	** Come on, even the posters spoil it.
16	** The ending is justifiably famous, but it averts this trope since it doesn't spoil anything involving the main plot, and you can't fully appreciate it without seeing the rest of the film.
17	* JustHereForGodzilla: Creator/OrsonWelles and the famous "cuckoo clock" speech is a ''big'' draw.
18	* 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, 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.]]
19	* MisaimedFandom: There are people who root for [[spoiler:''Lime''.]]
20	* MoralEventHorizon: [[spoiler:Lime faked his death to avoid being accused of selling watered-down penicillin that resulted in mass death and illness.]]
21	* 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 an 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!".
22	* PoorMansSubstitute: Creator/AlidaValli 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.
23	* RetroactiveRecognition: Creator/BernardLee, who played Sergeant Paine, would be [[Franchise/JamesBond 007's "M"]] from the [[Film/DrNo first film]] up to [[Film/{{Moonraker}} 1979]].
24	* SignatureScene:
25	** Harry Lime's intro and TheReveal that he is alive, complete with spotlight (rather light from window) illuminating him in the dark streets, with his impish "caught me" smirk.
26	** The Ferris wheel scene where Harry Lime talks to Holly Martins.
27	** The final shot of the film with Anna Schmidt walking past Holly Martins. This visual motif became widely copied and homaged over the decades.
28	* TearJerker: The children's hospital.
29	* 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.

Context YMMV / TheThirdMan