FILM TRIVIA & GOOFS
THE THIRD MAN • DER DRITTE MANN |
| FACT |
TRIVIA • TATSACHEN |
| 1 |
Drei Katzen - If you observe very closely, you'll see that three different cats were used for the scene where Holly discovers the "ghost" of Harry Lime in the shadows of a doorway. (DVD Chap. 17) |
| 2 |
The Sewers of Vienna - The trademark sewer scenes in The Third Man were filmed on location in Vienna and on sets at the Shepperton Studios in London. After his first scenes in Vienna, Orson Welles refused to do any more work in the actual sewers. All the other shots with Welles were done in the studio. |
| 3 |
Name Confusion: Which three characters' names in The Third Man keep getting mixed up or abused? - Anna keeps calling Holly "Harry." Holly keeps calling Calloway "Callahan." He also can't seem to get Dr. Winkel's name right, calling him WINK-el instead of VINK-el. |
| 4 |
Bernard Lee (1908-1981) plays Sergeant Paine. What very famous role did he later play in a series of films? - He went on to play M in the James Bond films from Dr. No (1962) to The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). |
| 5 |
Ernst Deutsch (1890-1969), the Austrian actor who plays Baron Kurtz, was born Ernest Dorian (in Prague) and used that name for his credits in six Hollywood films of the 1940s. He began his film career in 1916 (Die Rache der Toten) and made over 60 films. |
| 6 |
Theaterstück - Although the short Josefstadt Theater scene with Alida Valli seems like an actual 18th century play, it was written just for the film. The audience scenes with Joseph Cotten were filmed in the theater after the regular performance. (DVD Chap. 7) |
| 7 |
Galloway or Calloway? When author Graham Greene was in Vienna in 1948 to research his script, the actual British commander's name was Galloway. Greene apparently chose the name for the film character Major Calloway based on the similar real name. Others have speculated about the fictional name "Lime" going with Greene's name (as in "lime green"). |
| 8 |
Alida Valli was born Alida Maria Laura Altenburger in Pula, Croatia in 1921. At that time Pula was in Italy, and Valli is better known in that country, where she has made many motion pictures. David O. Selznick had hoped to turn her into another Ingrid Bergman, but that never happened. |
| 9 |
Paul Hörbirger (1894-1981), who plays the porter, had to learn his English lines phonetically. He was a well-know Austrian actor - with 251 films and TV shows to his credit. His first film appearance was in Spione ("Spies") in 1928. |
| GOOF |
GOOFS • PATZER |
| 1 |
Die falsche Adresse - When Holly Martins gets off the train in Vienna, he tells the customs official he's going to stay with a friend at 15 Stiftgasse. Later, during the scene with Martins and the porter, we can clearly see the house number "5" over the entrance to Harry Lime's apartment house. |
| 2 |
Too Many Fingers - The dramatic scene with Harry Lime's fingers sticking up through a sewer grate was shot in Vienna - with director Reed standing in for Welles. The problem is that in the previous scene Harry is holding a pistol in one hand, so he could not have put all ten fingers through the grate. (DVD Chap. 23) |
IMDb > More Third Man Goofs
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