Harry Lime

How is the sense of Claustrophobia and Doom explored in The Third Man

 The Third Man is a Pulp film (crime fiction magazine) featuring the story of Harry Lime in a post war Vienna. It's produced and based in 1949, in a prime example of Film Noir's World War influence. Vienna is perfectly portrayed in the Film Noir style, some what destroyed, badly lit (very dark) and the air of depression ever present.

The Plot features Holly Martins travelling through Vienna, where he ends up investigating the peculiar death of his old friend, one Harry Lime, who was involved in illegal black maket trading.

Film Noir is always about the atmosphere created in the shot. It goes hand in hand with tension, drama and dialogue, enhancing the viewer experience. One way to create the vague and eerie atmosphere is by making a sense of claustrophobia in the shot.

This is acheived through the long scene in The Third Man, which is a sewer chase scene. It is the epitome of the film, Harry Lime has been discovered and Austrian police and soldiers are chasing him through the many tunnels.

In this shot, the sense of claustrophobia is ever present; the perspective we get from the long shot is that we're in the tunnel with him, far deeper though. The sense of depth is created by the camera being so far away from the source of light, which is at the end of the tunnel (Light at the tunnel idea)

The tunnel is very narrow and poorly lit. The light reflects off the trail of liquid down the middle giving a sense of how dirty the tunnel. We can see there is only one way out, and several paths going off, giving the idea that Harry Lime is going to be trapped. He's merely a silhouette at the end of the tunnel, insinuating that his identity is vague and darkened. The tunnel idea feels like its slowly enclosing in on him - perhaps a metaphor that he's running out of luck?

Another close sewer scene is the shot above. It's slightly tilted, and gives it a very disorientated feel. We get the sense that we are also hiding with Harry, and evading the authorities that are chasing, we feel subtle and obscured, which works to build the tension in the scene. We can see here that Harry is just above them, hinting that he's the higher character in the scene. We can clearly see that he is pressed against the wall, hiding, terrified; clear representation of good and evil. The police are the good side here, looking to arrest their offender and the evil side is Harry Lime - a doctor (man of valued profession) who did not deserve such a career for his illigetimate trading of counterfit medicines. He is dressed in the colours of the shadows - black to represent the darkness of his actions, the evil - Police are dressed in white to be the purer side of things.

This is classic Film Noir. Moods represented through lighting, clothing, and position of characters.
It's a very claustrophobic scene, showing us that Harry Lime is in danger of being caught - how close they are to him, one move around and they would see him.

This shot is iconic in the scene. It perfectly shows the mood of the scene from Harry Lime's perspective. The lighting upon the upper side of his face is representative of the regular Film Noir moral superiority or ambiguity. The bottom half is much darker, showing the contrast between him and the above. It shows that he doesn't share such a properties as he is the bad side. The light could suggest 'good' and what he could have been. There is a clear expression of panic on his face showing that he's finally acknowledged the impending doom that he will undoubtedly encounter. It could also insinuate that he is a morally confused character, that he has seen the error of his ways but cannot undo or justify them now.  He is sweating, he is clearly worried about the outcome from this section of the film. We don't know any of what's occuring outside the shot or around him, we are focused soully on him.

This is the moment we know Harry's fate is sealed. He is trapped, the grate is firmly shut and cannot be opened. He is stuck underneath, in the stairwell, simply waiting. He can feel the wind on his fingers, the sense of freedom just beyond his reach. It can be viewed he is reaching up, almost looking for repentance or forgiveness. Harry's fate is clearly sealed here, as this is the last way out.