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Joseph Cotten uncovers a conspiracy surrounding a deceased friend in The Third Man, a masterfully crafted film noir thriller from author Graham Greene and director Carol Reed. Reed keeps the story moving at a brisk pace, surrounding Cotten’s character with a superb supporting cast that includes Alida Valli, Trevor Howard, Bernard Lee, and Orson Welles. Robert Krasker’s Oscar-winning cinematography is a revelation, turning war-torn Vienna into one of the most beautiful places ever seen on film. From the rubble of fallen buildings and the inside of bombed-out cars, to the top of a ferris wheel and down into the sewer tunnels — Krasker uses light and shadow to make Vienna the star of the show.

What seals the deal for me is Reed’s powerful composition and staging. There is a shot where a desperate man pokes his fingers through a street grate. From ground level, you see his fingers flail and reach while the wind blows leaves around them — and you’ve never seen such an elegant depiction of yearning in all your life. Then there’s the final shot of the movie, which I won’t spoil, except to say that it essentially tells an entire fourth act of the story without any dialogue, cutting, or camera movement — it’s just one gorgeous, silent frame, that bears the emotional climax of the movie in the most cinematic way possible.

If there’s anything I take issue with in The Third Man, it’s the zither-driven soundtrack. The absence of a manipulative, orchestral score grounds the film, but I might have preferred NO music to the annoying sound of a zither. Zither or no, The Third Man is cinematic magic.

Academy Award: Best Cinematography

Oscar Nominations: Best Director, Best Film Editing