Synopsis
THE THIRD MAN is one of the truly great post-war films. It is a thrilling story of black-marketeering set against a backdrop of Vienna in the immediate post-war era, when the city was divided into four zones amongst the major powers, Russia, Britain, France and America. Although the stars of the film, Orson Welles as Harry Lime and Joseph Cotton as Rollo (changed to 'Holly' for the film) Martins were American, the two main characters are quintessential Englishmen who were at the same public school. Graham Greene wrote the novella first ("to me it is impossible to write a film play without first writing the story" Greene wrote later) and then adapted it for the screenplay. The story is written in the first person from the view of the British Chief of Police, the part played by Trevor Howard, who is investigating the death of Harry Lime when Rollo Martins, a writer of Westerns, arrives in Vienna to visit his old school friend, and gets inextricably involved in the mystery...
Library Journal
Greene's novella, or "entertainment," was written in 1950 as a sort of preliminary draft for a screenplay and was not actually intended to stand alone as a written work. The motion picture, stated Greene, is better than the story because it is the story in its finished state, and it is the film, starring Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles, that most people will remember. This audiobook, however, brings the story to life very effectively, with all its suspense, odd turns of plot, and intriguing characters placed in the powerful setting of post-World War II Vienna. Murder, racketeering, mystery, and subterfuge combine for a compelling tale that is simple, economical, concise, and very satisfying. Reader Martin Jarvis communicates the mood and pace with intensity and skill and good character differentiation. Chapter breaks and side ends are marked musically by, what else, the famous zither-performed theme song. The story, complete on two cassettes, will please patrons who prefer a shorter commitment. Recommended for all popular collections.--Harriet Edwards, East Meadow P.L., NY