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.

• London Films Productions
• Joseph Cotten
• Alida Valli
• Trevor Howard
• Orson Welles
• Paul Hörbiger
• Ernst Deutsch
• Erich Ponto
• Siegfried Breuer