point is Harry Lime's charisma makes people overlook he is an sob
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Jamesir_Bensonmum — 11 years ago(March 11, 2015 05:52 AM)
I've always felt that Harry Lime's charisma and Holly Martins' lack of charisma was one of the best aspects of this film.
This is one of the first big movies where the protagonist of the film (which would be Holly) was less likable than the antagonist of the film (Harry). Holly was a sad-sack and a dopey guy, but he was put in the position to try to be the hero, like one of the characters from his bad dime-store novels. Harry on the other hand was a person who for all intents and purposes murdered children with his water-down black market penicillin, yet he is the dashing and jovial guy whom people like to be around. -
debtfull — 10 years ago(August 30, 2015 08:40 AM)
I think you get it. That is the theme of the movie. That people still love the guy he really can do no wrong. All the grief sticks to those around him.
Trevor Howard can only stand back in awe to his dark charisma. He knows they all know what he is on an intellectual level, but some weird emotional blindness goes on.
That is the real tension point, I think.
Now by today's movie standards, I wonder if his badness is simply to tame to really carry the point across. Just something to ponder. -
lamont-hard — 10 years ago(September 06, 2015 08:37 PM)
The film refused to give into the clich good guy gets the gal, Or best looking guy/Mr sensitive wins out with the airhead babe falling in love with him. The gruff got/had her heart and she not only stayed loyal to him but gave his competition the cold shoulder. We rarely see this in films today. Guys like loyal women while [some] women could care less about this as long as they get there love story.
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CharlesTheBold — 9 years ago(December 30, 2016 08:15 PM)
The film refused to give into the clich good guy gets the gal, Or best looking guy/Mr sensitive wins out with the airhead babe falling in love with him.
I read that scriptwriter Graham Greene originally had Holly get the girl, that Selznick overruled him, and that Greene admitted in the end that Selznick was right.
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lamont-hard — 9 years ago(December 30, 2016 09:05 PM)
They spoke of the bad penicillin but I am not sure children died from it. What was actually said on this, can you remember? I think it could be we are thinking kids may have died but it could be that may never have happened.
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jlmcafee — 9 years ago(January 04, 2017 09:51 AM)
I watched this movie for the first time the other day. There is a scene where Maj. Calloway is taking Martins to the airport. Calloway says he has a stop to make on the way and wants Martins to join him. They end up at a children's hospital and as they are walking among the beds/cribs we see a nurse cleaning one out and dropping a teddy bear into a chair. Calloway then says, "They gave it some of Lime's penicillin. Terrible pity isn't it." They never explicitly say children died but it was heavily implied.
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mike-848 — 10 years ago(September 26, 2015 05:31 PM)
Yeah. Same thing with the film HUD. Paul Newman was shocked that so many people took to his character who was a scoundrel. But the character Hud had charm and Newman's acting brought this out.
Some people can't do wrong. -
fcalderp — 10 years ago(February 20, 2016 05:45 PM)
I've red some of your comments and believe you can help me with this: When Joseph Cotton meets Alida Vali backstage, she tells him that Harry was killed by his chauffer, and that he was a good chauffer and acquitted at the hearing! Preposterous. I don't know what this scene is doing in the movie. Had Harry been killed by his chauffer (driving a truck?), the chauffer would have been the Third Man (obviously). Besides, he would have been the key-man in the mystery. But Cotton does not make any efforts to approach him. The chauffer is not mentioned in the rest of the film by anyone else. The witnesses describe the accident as a hit-and-run affair. Besides, they talk about a truck, why would Harry's chauffer be driving a truck? There is no reason for Alida to lie (she seems to know nothing about Harry's dealings or his "death"). However, I don't think anybody has noticed this discrepancy in the picture. It bothers me every time I see this movie (and I've seen it about 20 times so far) that, otherwise, is a perfect movie. I would appreciate your opinion about this.
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fcalderp — 9 years ago(June 12, 2016 02:17 PM)
I agree with you vilafire, I believe it's a flaw in the screenplay (that nobody seems to notice). Why was Harry's chauffer driving a truck? If he was innocent, what did he see? How come Holy never tried to contact him? If the driver of the truck was Harry's chauffer, he would have been "the third man." The rest of the plot develops as if there was no chauffer at all. I don't think there was a novel before the screenplay.
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CharlesTheBold — 9 years ago(December 30, 2016 08:20 PM)
I think these are supposed to be some of the inconsistencies that arouse Holly's suspicion. Somebody says it was a truck, somebody says a car. Anna said it was the chaffeur, everybody else says that it was a hit and run. The conspirators just didn't get their stories straight.
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Deluge69-663-991830 — 10 years ago(March 04, 2016 03:37 PM)
Cynically proves how many will fall for the old sappy charm, not realizing that he'd eventually pull his crap on them as well.
He was a cold and snide child murderer who chose to overlook what he had done.
We need more charm boys like that, oozing with all that crummy charisma.
More like HARRY SLIME.
The script simply eliminated the 'S' before Lime.
Great cinematography and atmosphere, but too slow and depressing until the better ending. Only I was glad that Slime got what was coming to him. His invincibility was only temporary.
Otherwise, not bad but I don't revere it as "the greatest" (What really is?)
And that cloying zither had to go. In the opening credits you might have thought that this was to be some comedy.