Art by La Boca
Jazz is the stereotypical music of film noir. Soft piano and crooning sax, the perfect moody complement to those scenes of smoke-filled bar; desolate, rain-soaked streets; the honking of a ’38 Packard and the holstering of a ’38 special. The Third Man has all of these scenes but, rather than jazz, the score is a single zither.
The result is an often-fun soundtrack with an added feeling of exoticism and adventure, due in large part to the zither’s uniqueness. “The Harry Lime Theme” (sometimes called “The Third Man Theme”) is the score’s most noteworthy track. It is a catchy, upbeat song whose international popularity skyrocketed Karas to fame. The score embodies the liveliness and freedom present in post-war Vienna, the same elements that created the criminal underbelly in which The Third Man is set.
Unfortunately, Karas [and director Carol Reed] is too clever for his own good as the score is too subversive. It captures Vienna’s air of happiness and opportunity, especially when viewed through our optimistic American protagonist. It also mocks his optimism and his hopeless attempts at single-handedly uncovering a deep-seated racketeering ring. But it fails to capture the city’s ever-present desolation and the dark, sinister effects of rampant crime, creating too drastic a divide between expectation and reality. It is a mostly lighthearted score that contrasts too sharply with what is a fairly pessimistic film.
The score is catchy, fun, and an overall joy to listen to, but it seems more suited to period adventure films like Aferim! or romance films like Chocolat rather than its over ambitious use in The Third Man.