MovieChat Forums > The Third Man (1950) Discussion > The Ending (spoilers)

The Ending (spoilers)

posted 9 years ago by DanMetsFan
11 replies | jump to latest

The final shot of Anna walking towards the camera and ignoring Holly might just be my favorite ending in cinema history. I can't even explain why, but that scene is just absolutely amazing.

[–] fcalderp 9 years ago

The ending is beautiful but we know she's not going to stop! She hates the man. By the way, there's a phrase in the movie that should not be there: When Alida Vali explain to Joseph Cotton that the driver of the truck that killed Harry Lime was "Harry's chauffer." This makes absolutely no sense. Had the driver been Harry's Chauffer, that driver would have been the "third man." There would have been no mystery at all. Besides, nobody mentions the chauffer again. The entire film is played as if Harry's death was a hit-and-run by a truck. Why would Harry's chauffer be driving a truck? Had this chauffer existed, he would have been the key element in the story, the man with all the answers. How come Joseph Cotton never tries to contact him? I don't know why that line is there. Why wo0uld Harry have a chauffer?

[–] DanMetsFan 9 years ago

I've never noticed that. I'll have to rewatch sometime and listen for when she says that.

[–] crulie 9 years ago

You can shoot this down if you want, as I have only just watched it for the first time.
But could Harry be the driver?
Or else, the incident about Harrys driver could have been made up, as some of the stories didnt match.
Appearently Harrys last words was in one version about Holly and the next about Anna.
Again, you probaly have a lot more knowledge in this movie than me.
But damn, I loved this movie.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] bradford-1 9 years ago

I first saw this film maybe 40 years ago, and I ALWAYS assumed Harry was the driver. Much of the movie is about disinformation, so the "chauffeur" was part of it.

May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?

[–] MoviemanCin 8 years ago

It's certainly up there in the top 10, Dan.

Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar, and / or doesn't.

[–] perbrink 8 years ago

I have read somewhere (and can't remember where) that the end was left to the actress who played Anna to decide - should she stop or walk on? When I enquired the IMDb team replied that such an important decision would not be left to chance.But I'm sure that I got the idea from somewhere. Can anyone help?

[–] DanMetsFan 8 years ago

What I have heard is that Carol Reed and Alida Valli (Anna) knew that she would walk by, but Joseph Cotten didn't. When she walked by and out of the shot, he improvised lighting a cigarette and throwing away the match.
It is possible that you heard that Cotten didn't know how the scene would play out and instead thought you had heard that Valli was the one. Just a thought

[–] alfa-16 8 years ago

There was a disagreement between Reed and Green about the outcome. Green wanted Anna to stop, Reed wanted her to carry on.

Reed won.

There's a lot of answers to questions in this document. http://www.rialtopictures.com/images_01/Making_of_Third_Man.pdf

In one of the the threads here, there was once a link to a postgrad essay which featured interviews with the production staff. Long gone now and I can no longer find the essay. Notable for having Welles being frank about his contributions in it and details of his time on set.

[–] CharlesTheBold 7 years ago

Selznick and Graham Greene (who wrote the script) argued about it. Greene wanted a happy ending, Selznick convinced him that the unhappy ending ( Anna snubs Holly) would be better. Then both agreed that having her slowly walk up, not showing her decision until the last minute, would be great.