Vienna - The Third Man
Following in the steps of Harry Lime
For movie buffs, one of the best things to do in Vienna is to take the Third Man Walking Tour and follow in the footsteps of Harry Lime.
Vienna - The Third Man - The Walking Tour
Harry is the charming but wicked profiteer in the film “The Third Man” which, in 2001, was voted the best British film ever.
During the tour you will explore the underground sewers, the scene of the final gripping chase. You can also visit the Central Cemetary which features in the opening scene of the film and where Holly Martins comes to pay his last respects to Harry. Little does he know that someone else is being lowered into the ground; Harry is alive and kicking. Best to see the movie first and then take the tour. There’s a showing at the Burg Kino, a small cinema next to the Burrggarten, the park where the Mozart statue is. Showings are every Friday at 10:45pm and Sunday at 3pm.
The Third Man walking tour normally takes two and a half hours. Longer tours of 5 hours or so can be arranged for true film buffs.
Vienna - The Third Man - Explore on your own
Once you have done the tour and are in a Third Man mood you might like to stroll around and visit other aspects of the city which are not on the tour but which also have connections with the movie.
Graham Green’s spy novel/screen play, The Third Man, was set in Vienna. it was written in 1948 and the book only became famous after the movie was released in 1949. Greene himself stated “The Third Man was never meant to be read but only to be seen”
The film opens with a shot of the Strauss statue in the Stadtpark. Carol Reed could have had the Vienna Symphony Orchestra for free, instead he chose Anton Karas and his zither as it seemed to fit the mood of post war Vienna. He heard Karas playing the zither in a cafe and knew right away that was what he wanted.
The Stadtpark is a nice place to relax for a while. There’s a beer garden which sells reasonably priced food.
Take a ride on the 19th-century Ferris Wheel where Holly Martins has the showdown with his old friend turned bad guy, Harry Lime. It is here that he, Lime, berates Holly about his concern for the “ants” below. The Wheel stops periodically for excellent photo opportunities. There are also the usual fairground amusements on offer, But the Ferris Wheel is the star.
In February 1948 Grahame Greene came to Vienna to do research for the movie and was put up in the Sacher Hotel by Alexander Korda. The Sacher was the birth place of The Third Man, in that Grahame Green stayed here to work on the script. He and Orsen Welles would meet up in the Sacher’s Red Bar after a day’s work. Welles always had a Bloody Mary and wrote in the guest book: “They make the best Bloody Marys in the world”.The Red Bar is now a restaurant.
The film is a time capsule. In writing the script, Greene was making a political statement - a cold war statement - but the American version, made by David Selznick had all the political statements cut out. It was highly edited and reduced to 90 minutes - it was de-politicisized. The American public never got to see the original film until 1999 - after a beautifully restored version was produced.
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