The Third Man

Rating:
Summary: A great and suspenseful read!
Review: Graham Greene outdoes himself in this mystery set in Post-War Europe. A taut yarn that in many ways was an early precursor to later books and their filmed adaptations, such as The Ipcress File and Touch of Evil (also starring and directed by Orson Welles). Definitely a must read!

Rating:
Summary: An interesting curiosity, but by no means a classic
Review: Greene's novella of The Third Man reminds me a lot of Whit Masterton's Badge of Evil (adapted by Orson Welles for Touch of Evil). It is a pacy story, exciting, with enough to keep a reader's interest, but when contrasted with the film that followed it does not bear comparison.

This is simply a film treatment. It was a novella written by Greene to provide a plot, and characters for an original screenplay director Carol Reed wished him to write (following an earlier successful collaboration). It was never intended to be a stand alone novel. And in a fascinating introduction Greene advises the reader of the changes forced on the original screenplay in the collaboration.

In the novel the story is narrated by Major Calloway, and is reliant on other's recollections of events (notably the writer Rollo Martins). The central character (Joseph Cotten in the film) is Rollo, not Holly Martins. Rollo being an English writer of Westerns under the pen name Buck Dexter. This leads to a "comic" misunderstanding where Martins is mistaken for a great English Man of Letters, B Dexter. Never convincing the change to an American lead ejects this from the film, and allows the comedy of the literary meeting to arise from Martins championing by Calloway's sergeant in the film.

The change to an American lead in the film, and therefore the change in nationality of Harry Lime (originally to have been played by Noel Coward, but thankfully played by Orson Welles in the film) meant that an anicllary character (Cooler) became Romanian in the final film - in order to avoid upsetting American filmgoers.

Aside from the changes to character, there are one or two alterations to plot (particularly in relation to Anna).

The novella as a stand alone text is a passable entertainment, and demonstrates Greene's ability at creating quirky interesting characters, and giving a novel a sense of place and atmosphere. Vienna is wonderfully evoked (although whether this stems simply from the writing, or is recollections of a wonderful film, I cannot be certain). It does not rank alongside the great Greene entertainments, such as Our Man in Havana; and certainly cannot rate with great novels like The Power and the Glory, The Human Factor, or The Heart of the Matter.

This is little more than an interesting curiosity, an opportunity for a reader to view the rough draft of a screenplay for one of the greatest films ever made. From it we learn that Greene could not write a book that was not entertaining, but we also see just how much of a role Carol Reed, actors, and music, had in creating the final film. Film is very much a collaborative process, and this film treatment was written with that very much in mind.

Rating:
Summary: Intrigue, betrayal, and constantly shifting alliances
Review: When Graham Green wrote this in 1949, he had a screenplay in mind. However, even though this short novella is only 157 pages long, it certainly can stand on its own. The setting is post-war Vienna, a once-beautiful city that was now nothing but war rubble. It's administered by the four victorious nations, Russia, France, Great Britain and the United States, and they all communicate with each other in the language of their former enemy. There's a somber mood, a feeling of decay and destruction throughout. And, of course there's a mystery, and lots of suspense, as the reader is swept into a story of intrigue, betrayal and constantly changing alliances.

The form is interesting too as it's narrated by a British policeman. He has some interesting philosophical discussions with the lead character, a fellow Brit named Rollo Martins who has been summoned to Vienna by a long-time friend, Harry Limes, only to find a funeral in progress for Limes when he arrives. The mystery deepens as he sets upon doing his own form of detective work. The writing is stark, with excellent dialog and the cast of characters is somewhat confusing at first. As we learn more and more, the book picks up speed and we're hurtled into the conclusion that, while it is satisfactory, never really answers all of the questions raised. With just a few words though, it made me look at some deeper issues than the plot, such as the moral conscience of the characters as well as the particular time period in which they lived. And if there are no easy answers? Well, that's the way life is.