In postwar Vienna, Austria, Holly Martins, a writer of pulp Westerns, arrives penniless as a guest of his childhood chum Harry Lime, only to learn he has died. Martins develops a conspiracy theory after learning of a "third man" present at the time of Harry's death, running into interference from British officer Major Calloway, and falling head-over-heels for Harry's grief-stricken lover, Anna.
Joseph Cotten
as Holly Martins
Alida Valli
as Anna Schmidt
Trevor Howard
as Major Calloway
Orson Welles
as Harry Lime
Paul Hörbiger
as Karl the Porter
Ernst Deutsch
as 'Baron' Kurtz
Erich Ponto
as Dr. Winkel
Siegfried Breuer
as Popescu
Hedwig Bleibtreu
as Anna's Landlady
Bernard Lee
as Sergeant Paine
Wilfrid Hyde-White
as Crabbin
Alexis Chesnakov
as Col. Brodsky the Russian Liaison Officer (uncredited)
