The Third Man: in search of the Vienna locations, 75 years later

Often voted the greatest British film ever made, Carol Reed’s The Third Man (1949) is an undeniable classic of British noir. Adapted by Graham Greene from his own story and featuring a phenomenal cast, it was a case of the stars aligning for Reed on every facet of his film, from its famous zither theme by Anton Karas to the evocative use of locations in and around Vienna.

The film follows pulp writer Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) after he travels to Vienna at the request of his friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles). On arriving, he finds that his friend has been mysteriously killed in a car accident and that, according to the local authority, Major Calloway (Trevor Howard), Harry was the one of the worst of the city’s racketeers, dealing in dangerous sub-par antibiotics. Meeting Harry’s lover Anna (Alida Valli), Holly grows increasingly suspicious about the circumstances of his friend’s death, especially when it becomes clear that, according to one witness, there was an unnamed third man at the scene.

Reed’s use of Vienna was extensive and detailed, all but defining the city’s post-war image on screen as the home of shady dealings. Using a vast array of locations all over the Austrian capital, Reed captured its rubble-strewn streets before the inevitable rebuilding began, making for one of the great big screen city portraits. Today, there’s even a museum dedicated to the film in the city, such is the impression it left on the viewing public.

Seventy-five years on, here are five locations in Vienna as they stand today.

When Holly first arrives in Vienna, he excitedly makes his way to Harry’s flat to meet him. The flat was in a building in Josefplatz, marked by its distinctive pillars. Today, the square is beaming white rather than post-war grey, but is still intact.

After finding out that his friend has been mysteriously killed in a car accident, he asks Harry’s suspicious friend Kurtz (Ernst Deutsch) what happened. The accident took place outside Harry’s flat, and we see shots of Kurtz showing Holly the spot where his friend supposedly died.

The actual spot where the third man was seen is just by the statue that gives the square its name: that of Emperor Joseph II on horseback. We don’t see the full statue while Kurtz tells Holly of his friend’s untimely demise, just its base.

Holly visits the flat a number of times, in particular to understand why the concierge (Paul Hörbiger) seems to continually change his story. This allows for a better view of the building’s beautiful entrance and its ornate pillars.

Compared with Lime’s flat, Anna’s is a less lavish affair. It’s housed in a virtually derelict building run by an old, eccentric landlady (Hedwig Bleibtreu). The building was in Am Hof, a location seen a handful of times throughout the film, including, as we’ll see later, during the pivotal but geographically unconnected scene when Harry flees through the streets after being spotted by Holly.

Sadly, the dereliction was real and the block was demolished and replaced by a modern building some time ago.

In one of the most famous and brilliant entrances for a character in film history, the eventual appearance of Harry Lime is one of Reed’s filmic master strokes, a perfect combination of editing, lighting and performance. We first see the location as a drunken Holly leaves Anna’s and catches sight of someone standing in the doorway. The street looking up is Schreyvogelgasse.

We first see the doorway where Harry is enjoying the affections of his cat from afar. The doorway was number 8 Schreyvogelgasse and is preserved today. Since being made famous by the film, it has appeared in numerous other movies shot in Vienna, including Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise (1995) and Michael Winner’s Scorpio (1973).

Annoyed by the sound of Holly’s drunken outburst at being followed, a nearby resident turns on a light in her window. The building from where the light shines down is still as it was.

We get a close-up of the door before Harry is finally revealed, smiling and amused by the whole situation. The doorway and the whole building has been given a fresh lick of bright paint, but is thankfully preserved.

After Harry has been seen by Holly, he flees into the night. With a canny bit of editing on Reed’s part, however, the street he’s running in isn’t the Schreyvogelgasse but actually just by where Anna’s flat was in Am Hof. The street where he’s first seen running into the square is Schulhof with its distinctive arch.

Holly then loses Harry in the vast square of Am Hof, which now houses an underground car park.

After Major Calloway and Sgt Paine (Bernard Lee) arrive to investigate, we get a more distinctive shot of the arch leading to Schulhof. Whether real or merely a prop, the water fountain seen in the shot is no longer there.

In another of the film’s most famous sequences, Holly finally draws Harry out from hiding and agrees to meet him in the Prater, a historic funfair situated in one of the city’s green spaces. The focus of the scene is the Riesenrad, the giant wooden Ferris wheel where the pair meet for a private talk high above the ground. 

Today, the wheel is still turning and preserved as it was, except perhaps for slightly safer doorways and cabins. In spite of the ominous nature of the scene in Reed’s film, the wheel more often has romantic associations in film, being where various characters kiss: for example, in Linklater’s Before Sunrise and the James Bond film The Living Daylights (1987).

The film ends on a melancholy note in a graveyard, with Harry’s second funeral. Holly waits for Anna as she makes the long walk from the grave through one of the seemingly endless pathways of Central Cemetery in outer Vienna near Simmering. Today, the graveyard is mostly as it was, quiet and picturesque, with tourists typically making their way to visit not Harry’s grave but Beethoven’s.

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Visiting Vienna

The Third Man is back in cinemas on 6 September and an exclusive 4K UHD anniversary collector’s edition will be available this autumn.