The Third Man Discussion
After watching the clips on The Third Man, I realize some differences with the passages in the book. One of the differences in the length and depth of the story in the clip and the book. In the book, the story is told in a more detailed way as compared to the clip where the story is short but becomes more vivid through the actions and motion pictures. In a short period, one can understand the clip as watching motion pictures is more passive as compared to reading the passages in the book. It can impart the content in a more easily consumable way than the book of commensurate length. Ideally, the clip is more tangible, compact, and visual than the comparable passage in the book and is easier to remember.
I find Rollo Martins in certain quarters an admirable character. He shows some sense of loyalty towards humanity than to individuals. He is a friend to Limes but when he learns that Limes has been involved in a dangerous trade that involves selling diluted penicillin that risks the lives of children he hunts for him and even assists the police to look hunt for him. Rollo Martins would have buried everything under the carpet and hijack the process to save Limes but he does not and sees the danger with the continued trading of illegal penicillin. However, on the other hand, his character is flawed when he becomes too much intoxicated as well as in falling in love with Limes girlfriend Anna Schmidt which shows a lack of self-control and betrayal.
The author tells the story from the perspective of Joseph Cotton who is known as Rollo Martins who has just arrived in Vienna penniless as a guest of his childhood friend Harry Lime also known as Orson Wells only to find him dead. Rollo Martin develops a conspiracy theory after he has learned the death of Limes after learning of a third man present at the time of the death of Lime, running into interference from Calloway known as Trevor Howard. The author chooses to develop the perspective of the story through Rollo Martins drive home the theme of the story which includes the irrationality of man, the power of evil, and the vitality of luck. Lime would have been successful without resorting to racketeering while Anna would have been happy without Lime.
Vienna is viewed as another character in the passage and the movie. Vienna is just recovering from the post-war bombing. It is divided into four zones that represent the four superpowers that include America, Russia, Britain, and France. It helps reflect the situation in urban centers across Europe which in the post-war period. Poverty and crime are the order of the day which explains why Rollo Martins leaves for Vienna to look for a job at the invitation of Harry Lime. Vienna is thriving under crime as seen through illegal trading. Lime makes money through sales of diluted penicillin and manages to keep it out of the hands of the military police in the four zones by traveling through the urban sewage system. It is the black market that give3s the backdrop to the story and the characters that inhabit it.
Anna is a hypocritical character in this passage. She knew the illegal trading of penicillin that his lover Harry Lime get involved in but did not reveal it till when it is reported that Lime has died. More so, she is a betrayal with no self-control. She falls in love with Rollo Martins which betrays Harry Lime and then walks away from Rollo Martins when Rollo Martins kills Lime later.
Rollo Martins is blindly loyal to Lime until he learns of the illegal trade that Lime has been involved and in that case, moral intelligence becomes important to Rollo Martins. When Rollo Martins becomes Lime’s executioner, this friendship is shattered. It is seen as a betrayal. Anna on the other hand at the end of the film ignores Rollo Martins and walks away from him. She punishes him for his betrayal. His sentimentality and wild flights of fancy which might be harmless in certain circumstances end up looking like grave moral lapses.