Introduction
Written by Graham Greene and directed by Carol Reed, The Third Man has been rated as "one of the greatest British thrillers of the post-war era, in the best Alfred Hitchcock tradition, and beautifully produced" (AMC Filmsite).Voted as the number one British Film of the 20th Century by the respected British Film Institute, this film set in post-World War II Vienna begins with the protagonist Holly Martins, played by Joseph Cotten, arriving in Vienna from USA to meet and work with his childhood pal Harry Lime, played by Orson Welles. It is the friendship between Harry Lime and Holly Martins that sets the plot of the film. It is their friendship that divulges the disparity in the post WWII era, the deception and lack of morality in people. The character of Holly Martins represents the archetypal western man, a modern writer of juvenile western pulp stories, who faces an internal dilemma whether or not to betray his best friend when he comes to know of the truth about his friend. It is the internal conflicts and dilemma of the protagonist which combined with the theme of friendship beautifully strengthens the complex characterization used in the movie while the dark and bleak setting of Vienna streets adds to the suspense of the story.
Setting
The film is setup in Vienna. Vienna after World War II was a devastated city divided by international borders. The city was controlled by four allied powers including Russia, Britain, France and USA. The infrastructure of the place had been gutted. Most of the neighborhoods of Vienna were destroyed by bombings with the remnants of rubble reminding one of the horrifying time of the war (Driver, 2010). Russians were the most powerful among the four powers that controlled the city. Graham Green, the scriptwriter of the movie, fully exploited that fact in the story. The division of authority created a chaos of regulation and forgery. It also created an environment for black market activities. When the protagonist Holly Martins arrived in Vienna, he was provided with a mystery. Harry Lime, an old friend of Martins, had been killed. It was presented to Martins as a simple hit and run accident case but special interest of Major Calloway in the case made Martins believe otherwise. Initially the story evolved in such a way making Holly Martins believe that the authorities were not interested in solving the case. Then the film introduced the 'third man' angle which intensified the mystery further. Holly Martins felt the moral responsibility to bring justice to his friend by solving the puzzle behind his murder. The setting of the film so closely resembles the image of a war torn Vienna that even today movie lovers and critics take a tour of the squares, Ferris wheels and even the sewers (Driver, 2010). The setup and the story went on to influence a great many film makers of future generations.
Characterization
Holly Martins is the central character of the film. Although there are other major characters in the film but definitely the whole story revolves around Holly Martins. Holly Martin is presented in the film as a writer who has written books like 'Oklahoma Kid' and 'The lone Rider of Santa Fe'. It portrays his innocent American outlook towards life. That is why he is unable to understand the post war complexities and dynamics in Europe. His character is portrayed as ignorant of the reality in post war Europe. In the pre-war movies, characterization of westerners and their morals and values were much simpler and stereotyped. Holly Martins is no different to start with. He is portrayed as an innocent man struggling to come to terms with his friend's sudden death in a murky post war Vienna. He plays different roles in the film. Sometimes he enacts the role of a detective, sometimes he is a cowboy author and sometimes he is a protagonist craving for justice (Roberts). He falls into an extensive mental dilemma when he comes to know about the truth of his friend. His confusion sets him apart from other western archetypal heroes who are by nature firm and decisive but Holly Martins' character remains a confused protagonist throughout the movie (Roberts). Although he kills Harry at the end of the film to set things right but his inner conflicts continue to baffle audiences even after the end of the movie. Holly Martins, thus, becomes more of a real character torn by inner conflicts than just a hero of a movie.
Theme of Friendship
The friendship between the two central characters Holly Martins and Harry Lime constitutes the theme of the movie. According to Aristotle, a friendship between two people lasts only till both of them walk down the path of virtues, helping each other enhance their good traits, but the moment one friend loses the track of virtuosity he falls from the grace in the eyes of the other friend and that becomes reason enough to end a friendship (Driver, 2010). The sort of mutual dependency of one friend on another for the reinforcement of each other's virtue, as has been advocated by Aristotle, seems to ring true for the sort of friendship Harry and Martins share in the movie. When they were in school, Harry being the charming one had his talents for 'facilitation' put to use when needed. Martins depended on Harry for social status while Harry looked up to Martins for a source of respect and validation (Driver, 2010).
It is probably due to the need of such external source of approval that Harry sends for Holly so that amidst people like his fellow racketeers Popescu and Kurtz, Harry feels a sense of emotional support from his friend. Harry might be a terrible human being who uses the love of Anna to bargain and deal with Russians but his love for his friend Holly is truthful. Though Harry would not hesitate to kill Holly if there was only way to save himself, but considering his feelings for others, his friendship for Holly borders on some sense of genuineness. Holly, on the other hand, is a confused character whose feeling for Harry shows in his desperation to solve the puzzle behind his friend’s murder and bring justice. Holly, however, is a virtuous character who falls into a moral dilemma when confronted to choose between friendship and moral duty. He chose the latter over the former by killing his friend.
Inner Conflicts
One of the virtues required for friendship is loyalty. One's sense of loyalty is put to test when one confronts a dilemma between loyalty and justice. If loyalty is a virtue that defines friendship, justice commands impartiality. Holly faces an inner conflict when he comes to know that his friend Harry who is known to be murdered is actually alive and involved with an unethical work of black marketing of penicillin. Holly is a good human being who coming to know of his friend's devious way and a number of deaths taking place due to his friend's black marketing falls into a moral dilemma as to what he should do. While Holly shows concerns for his friend's welfare, he equally becomes influenced by the words of Major Calloway who relentlessly tries to convince Holly of Harry's utter disregard for the life of others. Holly, however, hopes that he would be able to redeem his friend and the Ferris Wheel scene is important in that direction but he realizes that there is no goodness left in Harry and that Harry is beyond redemption. All of Holly's feelings for Harry and his obligation for their friendship dissolve in that scene (Driver, 2010). Holly decides to help Calloway at the cost of his friendship with Harry. By betraying Harry, he might have violated the norms of friendship but he emerges as a hero who sides with the right against wrong.
Conclusion
Regarded as one of the greatest films of all time, The Third Man, directed by Carol Reed is set in the backdrop of Vienna city in the post-World war era. The bleak setting constituted by the devastated remnants of buildings and rubble spread throughout Vienna city meshes beautifully with the mysterious plot of the movie. Holly Martins, who is a representative of western archetype, plays the role of a protagonist in the story. He is depicted as a man of virtue who traumatized by his friend's sudden death takes it upon himself to solve the mystery behind his friend's murder but later goes into an extensive emotional turmoil when he faces the truth of his friend. His friendship for Harry is genuine and it shows again and again in his concerns for the welfare of Harry but in his emotional conflict between friendship and moral duty, he ultimately chooses the latter over friendship to stick to his conscience. He might become a bad friend by betraying Harry but in the eyes of the viewers he emerges as a hero whose sense of virtue prevails over his sense of loyalty.
References
Driver, J. (2010). Justice, Mercy, and Friendship in the Third Man. Washington University in St. Louis. Retrieved on 22nd January 2013 from <http://pages.wustl.edu/files/pages/imce/jdriver/DRIVER_Third_Man.pdf>
AMC Filmsite.The Third Man (1949). Retrieved on 22nd January 2013 from <http://www.filmsite.org/thir.html>
Roberts, E. Holly Martins a Cowboy? The Third Man. Retrieved on 22nd January 2013 from <http://eng3122.wordpress.com/group-4-main/gender-studies-approaches/holly-martins-a-cowboy-the-third-man/>
