The Third Man

I once dismissed the Third Man as little more than Orson Welles making a speech about cuckoo clocks, how wrong I was. There is so much to like about this film, the performances from Orson Welles through to Bernard Lee and Wilfrid Hyde-White were captivating. Bernard Lee gave us the salt of the earth Sgt Payne who punches Holly Martins (Joseph Cotton) one moment and waxes lyrical about his books the next, for me he almost steals the show. Orson Welles gives probably the best thirty minute performance in fim history, probably only equalled for effect by Anthony hopkins in the Silence of the Lambs. The power and charm of Welles almost makes you want Harry Lime get away with his abhorrent crimes. Throughout the film your led to be sympathetic with so many of the characters as they are placed in inenvaible positions by Lime.