"The Third Man" is a 1949 British film noir. It was directed by Carol Reed and written by Graham Greene. This film was based upon a novella of the same name that had previously been written by Greene. The production of the movie was handled by Reed, Alexander Korda, and David O. Selznick. Stars include Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard. Set in postwar Vienna, the film centers on an American, Holly Martins (Cotten). He arrives in the city to accept a job with his friend Harry Lime (Welles), only to learn that Lime has died. Viewing the death as suspicious, Martins elects to stay in Vienna and investigate the matter.

In 1949 in the United Kingdom, "The Third Man" was the most popular film at the British box office. According to 'Kinematograph Weekly', it was the biggest winner that fans wanted to see again and again. In 1999, the British Film Institute voted "The Third Man" the greatest British film of all time.

Concerning "Hangmen Also Die!", a 1943 noir war film, "Scarlet Street", a 1945 American noir crime film, and "The Big Heat", a 1953 American film noir crime drama, each of these films was directed by Fritz Lang. Lang (December 1890 – August 1976) was an Austrian-German-American film director, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. He was one of the best-known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism and was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute.

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