The Third Man

About this Broadcast

American writer Holly Martins goes to post-Second World War Vienna at the invitation of his old friend Harry Lime, only to be told that Lime has been killed by a car while crossing the street. However, the author finds the circumstances surrounding his death fail to add up and goes in search of the truth - but is unprepared for the ugly secrets he uncovers. Carol Reed's thriller, written by Graham Greene, starring Joseph Cotten, Orson Welles, Alida Valli and Trevor Howard

1949 HD subtitles 16x9 audio-description

Detective/Thriller Movie/Drama

Cast & Crew

Joseph Cotten (Actor) .. Holly Martins

Orson Welles (Actor) .. Harry Lime

Alida Valli (Actor) .. Anna Schmidt

Trevor Howard (Actor) .. Maj Calloway

Bernard Lee (Actor) .. Sgt Paine

Ernst Deutsch (Actor) .. `Baron" Kurtz

Siegfried Breuer (Actor) .. Popescu

Erich Ponto (Actor) .. Dr Winkel

Carol Reed (Director)

More Information

Did You Know..

Joseph Cotten (Actor) .. Holly Martins

Orson Welles (Actor) .. Harry Lime

Alida Valli (Actor) .. Anna Schmidt

Trevor Howard (Actor) .. Maj Calloway

Born: September 29, 1913 in Kent

Best Known For: Brief Encounter.

Early-life: Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith was born in Kent on September 29, 1913. He was educated at Clifton College and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He played a number of roles on the West End stage before being called up into the Army Signal Corps in 1940. He was discharged from service in 1943 for mental instability.

Career: Howard had small roles in the films The Way Ahead (1944) and The Way to the Stars (1945) before his big break in 1945, playing the stoic Dr Alec Harvey in David Lean's Brief Encounter. He went on to have an acclaimed film career, starring in The Third Man (1949), Outcast of the Islands (1951), The Cockleshell Heroes (1955), The Key (1958), Sons and Lovers (1960), Mutiny on the Bounty (1962), The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968) and Rawlinson End (1980). He died on January 7, 1988 at the age of 74.

Quote: 'We don't have the Method School of acting in England. We simply read the script, let it seep in, then go put on whiskers - and do it.'

Trivia: He was a member of the Marylebone Cricket Club. Received an Academy Award nomination for Sons and Lovers. He won a Primetime Emmy for The Invincible Mr Disraeli.