The Spy Story Behind The Third Man

Abstract

The Third Man symbolically stands for espionage. Indeed, though its storyline concerns friendship and the hunt for an unscrupulous black-market dealer, the film has been connected to the Cold War struggle between intelligence services since its release in 1949. This perception is partly related to the film's setting—the bombed-out ruins of Vienna— which was then (and still remains) a major hub for spies. What has been less noted, however, is that the film's origins itself represent an espionage story. All major figures involved had a background in intelligence, from the author Graham Greene, to the producer Alexander Korda and the figure of Harry Lime, whose real-life model was the KGB mole Kim Philby. By drawing upon archival material as well as secondary literature, this article explores this other history of The Third Man and puts the film in the context of postwar Austria, and highlights how real-life events and personalities inspired its story.