The Third Man

For a first watch must concentrate, very good storyline.

This serial is notable for two things; 1) Orson Welles was so annoyed that he wasn't entitled to any money from this series (he felt he "owned" the character of Harry Lime) that he released a radio series, called "The Lives Of Harry Lime", based on the adventures of Lime before the events of "The Third Man" novel and movie, as a spoiler operation; his version of Lime was more like the character Welles portrayed in the movie "The Lady From Shanghai" than Graham Greene's sleazy spiv. 2) According to Emlyn Williams, in his book "Beyond Belief" about the British 1963-65 "Moors Murders", the killer Ian Brady, when questioned by the prison psychiatrist, on why he committed the murders, claimed that the TV series made him do it, that he "wanted to be like Harry Lime".

This is a series of short programs that are loosely based on Il terzo uomo (1949). The British T. V. series uses the same theme music as the movie. In the first box e only get 10 of the 77 episodes from January 23,1959 until August 27,1965.

This time Michael Rennie(1909-1971) is Harry Lime with his sidekick Jonathan Harris(1914-2002) as Bradford Webster.

1. The Third Medallion It was surprising to see all the actors as you watch the story unfold. At first, they will overpower the characters they are playing. Given the nature of the show, I should have planned on Werner Klemperer.

Watch as Harry pulls a rabbit out of the hat at the last moment to wrap up the mystery.

2. A Pocketful of Sin By now we realize that Jonathan Harris is with us to stay as Lime's assistant Bradford Webster. He makes all the faces and jesters that you found him in "Lost in Space." This review would be too long if I were to identify all the almost fifty recognizable actors in the series. Some very phony French accents.

Tricky ending but not that tricky as you are thinking.

The balance of the programs is technically the same formula. If you enjoyed the first two episodes you will enjoy the balance.

My wife found me a DVD with three episodes of this show at a dollar store in the Sacramento, CA area. The DVD is apparently produced by Television Classics of Solana Beach, California. If you are a fan, as I have become, then happy hunting!

The show stars Michael Rennie.

And Jonathan Harris.

Harry Lime is the hero.

The three episodes on my DVD are: "The Man Who Died Twice" "Dark Island" and "A Little Knowledge"

Hope this helps.

Harry Lime in the 1949 movie is a charming, totally amoral character. In the 1951 radio series, (an episode of which can be heard on the Criterion Collection DVD of the film), which also starred Orson Welles, he is a charming adventurer of dubious reputation who is not as ammoral as people think he is. In the TV show, as played by Michael Rennie, he's a rather conservative businessman whose reputation seems to have been a case of mistaken identity.

I would love to have seen Welles essay the role in the TV show. It would have made all the difference. But of course, he didn't do TV series. One wonders who might have been more interesting than Rennie who was doing TV at that time. The name, (and face) that pops into my mind is Ross Martin but perhaps he was not a big enough star yet. At least Jonathan Harris provides some liveliness as Lime's persnickety assistant, although one can hardly imagine Welles' Lime finding a use for such a character. Also, in a half hour show his intrusions often detract from the story too much.

I will say that I like the way the show was filmed, with some good camera angles, clever editing and, of course, Anton Karras' musical theme, which never seems to stop playing. It's still not a patch on the movie but what TV series is?