Goodnight, Vienna: THE THIRD MAN (British Lion 1949)

I’m just gonna come right out and say it: THE THIRD MAN is one of the greatest movies ever made. How could it not be, with all that talent, from producers Alexander Korda and David O. Selznick, director Carol Reed , screenwriter Graham Green, and cinematographer Robert Krasker, to actors Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli , and Trevor Howard. It’s striking visuals, taut direction, and masterful acting transcend the film noir genre and make THE THIRD MAN one of the must-see films of 20th Century cinema.

The story starts simply enough, as American pulp novelist Holly Martins arrives in post-war Vienna to meet up with his old pal Harry Lime, only to learn that Harry was recently killed in a car accident. He attends the graveside service, meeting Harry’s mysterious actress girlfriend Anna Schmidt, and is quickly pulled down a rabbit hole of intrigue and deception involving the British military police, black marketeers, and a very much alive Harry…

Reed fills the screen with dazzling cinematic imagery, from a terrifying ferris wheel ride to the shadow world of Vienna’s sewers, each scene giving the viewer something different: Dutch angles, quick cut edits, close-ups, and atmospheric lighting. Little touches like that kid and his ball or the man with the balloons add greatly to the film’s mood. While Reed was already one of England’s master craftsmen, there’s a heavy Orson Welles influence throughout THE THIRD MAN. Most historians claim the film is pure Reed, but the Welles touch is so evident in many scenes that one wonders…

Orson Welles  doesn’t appear as Harry Lime until around 30 minutes into the film, but his presence is felt throughout, and the entire movie revolves around this charming rogue. Welles is reunited with his Mercury Theater cohort Joseph Cotten as the pulp fiction writer Holly (“I write cheap novelettes”), who sets things in motion. Alida Valli was well known to Italian movie lovers; she’d go on to a long and prosperous international career. Trevor Howard is good as always as British Major Calloway, and his second-in-command Sgt. Paine is played by James Bond’s future boss Bernard Lee. There’s another 007 connection in THE THIRD MAN as well: assistant director Guy Hamilton would go on to direct GOLDFINGER , DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER , LIVE AND LET DIE , and THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN.

Then there’s that unique zither score by Austrian native Anton Karas, unlike anything heard in films before or since. Allegedly, Reed didn’t want to go with traditional Viennese waltz music, and came across Karas playing his zither at a wine garden one night. One thing led to another, and the zither plays a huge factor in making THE THIRD MAN so memorable, not to mention making a brief star out of the humble Karas, whose “Harry Lime Theme” became an unlikely #1 hit in 1950:

I could go on and on about the brilliance of THE THIRD MAN, but why waste time reading my humble scribblings? Go out and watch the film yourselves, and if you already have – watch it again!

Halloween Havoc!: EYES WITHOUT A FACE (Lido Film 1959)

From the early films of Georges (A TRIP TO THE MOON) Melies, to the horrors of H.G.Clouzot (LE CORBEAU, DIABOLIQUE), to the vampire madness of Jean Rollin, France has a long history with le cinema fantastique. EYES WITHOUT A FACE is one of the most eerie of all French horrors, it’s dreamlike quality capturing the viewer, even with subtitles. I’m not a big fan of foreign films, but EYES WITHOUT A FACE stood out to me as a perfect example of how quiet horror can be just as effective as full-throttle terror.

The story unfolds slowly, deliberately, as we see a woman (Alida Valli) driving down a lonely highway. There’s someone or something in her backseat, bundled up in a hat and topcoat. The woman pulls over when a car comes behind her, nervous, scared. When it passes, she carries what we now see as a female corpse, dropping it into the Siene River. The police fish it out, and Dr. Genessier (Pierre Brasseur) identifies it as his missing daughter, Christiane. A funeral is held, where we discover the woman is Genessier’s assistant Louise. Furthermore, the corpse is not Christiane at all…she’s at the doctor’s villa, victim of a disfiguring car crash. Christiane (Edith Scob) wears a mask ala’ The Phantom of the Opera to hide her ugliness. Dr. Genessier was the driver who caused Cristiane’s disfigurement, and he’s been experimenting with skin grafts to give his child a new face, first by practicing on dogs, now using young women. To achieve his goal, Dr. Genessier is cutting off their faces and transplanting them onto daughter Christiane.

The scenes of Genessier and Louise performing their gruesome operations in his brightly lit laboratory are vivid for a 50s film, moreso then even the British Hammer horrors. You can almost feel them peeling the face off ever so delicately, sending shivers down the viewer’s spine (or at least this viewer!). Most of the movie is done in stark white settings, emphasizing the fact that horrors don’t always happen in the dark. Christiane’s blank-faced mask shows us only her eyes, the fear and horror etched within them. Sound is used to good effect as well, the constant barking of the dogs and chirping of birds conveying the loneliness of Christiane. The denouement to EYES WITHOUT A FACE is particularly frightening, with Genessier getting his comeuppance courtesy of Christiane.

Cinematographer Eugen Schufftan does a commendable job utilizing light to contrast the bizarre goings-on. Schufftan was one of Europe’s most respected cinematographers. Fleeing his native Germany during the Nazi era, he came to America. Since Scufftan was not in the union, he worked uncredited as cinematographer (often getting a consultant credit) on films by countryman Edgar G Ulmer (HITLER’S MADMAN, BLUEBEARD, STRANGE ILLUSION). Schufftan was warded an Oscar for his black & white filming of THE HUSTLER. Director Georges Franju was a film archivist who’s work as director included the serial flavored JUDEX (1963). EYES WITHOUT A FACE was based on a novel by Jean Roden, and adapted for the screen by the team of Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac. The duo was responsible for the stories that were filmed as DIABOLIQUE, VERTIGO, and Body Parts. Maurice Jarre’s jaunty, incongruous score adds to the film’s oddness. Jarre was one of the most successful composers working in film, with Oscars given for LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, DOCTOR ZHIVAGO, and A PASSGAE TO INDIA. Other notable Jarre works include RYAN’S DAUGHTER, THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING, DEAD POETS SOCIETY, and GHOST.

The cast members were well known in France, but none made an impact here in the States save Alida Valli. The beautiful actress made her American debut in Alfred Hitchcock’s THE PARADINE CASE, then was featured in the classic thriller THE THIRD MAN. Returning to work in Europe in the mid-50s, Valli continued her success abroad, ending her screen career appearing in Dario Argento works like SUSPIRIA and INFERNO. EYES WITHOUT A FACE was first seen in this country in a butchered and dubbed version titled THE HORROR CHAMBER OF DOCTOR FAUSTUS, double billed with THE MANSTER. Thankfully, the original version was restored and shown in this country in 2003. Now readily available, the film is hailed as the classic it truly is, its influence seen in horror movies made around the world. Don’t let the subtitles steer you away from EYES WITHOUT A FACE, for you’ll be missing one of the scariest films in le cinema fantastique.