A young American novelist, Holly Martins (Joseph Cotton), arrives in Vienna looking for his friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles). Once in the city, however, he learns that Harry Lime has passed away. Shocked, Holly Martins starts asking questions, a lot of them. He is told a number of different stories that eventually lead him to believe that Harry Lime was killed.<br /><br />Determined to find out who is responsible for Harry Lime's murder, the American embarks on a treacherous journey amidst the unfriendly streets of Vienna. Soon, he is entangled in a web of deceit and dangerous machinations. Along the way, the American also encounters the beautiful Anna Schmidt (Alida Valli), a Czech national with forged Austrian papers, who agrees to help him.<br /><br />Written by the legendary Graham Greene, Carol Reed's The Third Man is a terrific hybrid of a film where noir, neo-realism and Hollywood bravado are mixed to perfection. Set in post-war Vienna, the film is very much a dark caricature of sorts where the finesse, elegance and tradition of Old Europe are seen through the eyes of a naive but ambitious American looking for his missing friend.<br /><br />Contrary to what many critics have claimed, the actual story is rather complicated. A giant mystery surrounding Oscar Welles' character, Harry Lime, is slowly peeled off, piece by piece. As a result, The Third Man quickly evolves into a guessing game where every little detail is worth analyzing. As expected for a noir-film, there is also a dangerous femme fatale who becomes a prominent player as soon as the main protagonist reaches Austrian soil.<br /><br />In addition to strong dark overtones, The Third Man also boasts a great deal of nihilism. Betrayal and impossible love for example are depicted by Carol Reed with a sense of realism that feels uncannily contemporary. Not surprisingly, The Third Man works incredibly well not only as a non-stop adventure film, but also as a realistic depiction of a world struggling to recuperate after an enormous tragedy.<br /><br />Furthermore, even though The Third Man is a British film, its view on Old Europe is distinctively American. The clash of cultural ideologies, as witnessed through the interactions between Alida Valli and Joseph Cotton, is particularly impressive. There are entire scenes where Carol Reed focuses on the American whose alarming naivety produces some of the most hilarious yet, disturbing sequences that compliment the mystery.<br /><br />Finally, Anton Karas' soundtrack is beautiful. The mellow sounds produced by his zitner grant The Third Man with an entirely new flavor, one that blends with the dark vistas from Vienna's sewers exceptionally well. Not surprisingly, the atmosphere The Third Man sustains is often cited as its greatest strength.