1949 thrillerRating: 20/20 (Jen: 14/20)
Plot: A pulp writer with a girl's name arrives in post-war Vienna to meet his buddy Harry Lime who has offered him a job opportunity. He's all ready to greet his friend in the traditional way ("When I open the fridge and see a Harry Lime, I throw it in the trash ha ha ha.") when he's instead greeted with the news that his friend has died. But the man with the girl's name realizes there's something amiss and runs around trying to put some pieces together. He's nearly driven insane by zither music.
This movie is flawless, a perfectly told labyrinth of a mystery. Graham Greene's script combines dry humor and tense drama while the set design, the sound (even the zither), the use of light, and the odd tilting camera angles contribute to capture an offbeat but entirely effective mood. Robert Krasker's (Academy Award winning) cinematography is as good as it gets. War-scarred black and white Vienna is beautiful. Great performances. Orson's menacing forehead nearly steals the show, but Joseph Cotton, as the poor, flawed individual who refuses to leave the web he's found himself trapped in, is also really good. This blends genres well, and all the elements add up to something that was very ahead of its time then and is still very different now.
I told Roger Ebert that I didn't care for the whirly burly carnival type music in this. He said he loved it. I then said I also didn't care for the same style of music in "Touch of Evil". That kind of pissed him off and he sort of turned away from me. He probably has other things on his mind now and doesn't remember our conversation.
ReplyDeleteI love the cuckoo clock conversation, Welles lit up in the doorway, and the style of many scenes. I don't know why, but Joseph Cotton always kind of rubs me the wrong way a little (except in "Shadow of a Doubt"). A 16.
I agree with Ebert and also love the music in this.
ReplyDelete'Touch of Evil' is one of my favorite movies.
Jen's problem with this, by the way, is that she knew Lime was still alive and therefore thought it was "predictable" and that the sewer chase went on way too long. This type of movie ain't really her bag anyhow.