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Ep. 73: The Third Man [ 1:11:23 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Lady P is joined by film historian and Orson Welles scholar, Professor Joseph McBride, as well as fellow UW-Madison graduate student, and fellow Welles enthusiast, Erica Moulton, to discuss one of Orson’s most popular non-directorial efforts. Today’s Sight and Sound entry is the 73rd movie on the International Critics Poll, Carol Reed’s The Third Man (1949). A film in which Orson utilizes his immense onscreen charisma to charm audiences across the globe into sympathizing with a heartless criminal.

Despite only appearing in the film for a small fraction of the runtime, the specter of Welles permeates the entire story. The panel talks about what makes Welles’ Harry Lime character such an enduring figure in Film Noir history and how the film’s structure reinforces Welles’ mystique. They also discuss the ways in which The Third Man plays with and subverts conventional Noir tropes and how it directly addresses the political landscape of the era.

Lastly, they make a small detour to speculate about possible dates for the forthcoming release of Welles’ previously unfinished film, The Other Side of the Wind and they chat about McBride’s soon to be published book on the work of director Ernst Lubitsch.