The Third Man

Trivia: Orson Welles' line "...you know what the fellow said... In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed - but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love, five hundred years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock." was not in the script. Welles just wanted to say it, so he did, much to the anger of the original author. He thought it was a terrible piece of writing but it has turned out to be the most memorable line in the entire film.

Trivia: Despite his relatively high billing, Orson Welles has only five minutes of screen time.

Continuity mistake: When the butler tells of Harry Lime's death, at the start of the conversation he can hardly speak English. As the conversation goes on, his English gets better and better, until at the end it's perfect with just an accent.

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: He is reluctant to speak English at the start possibly to avoid trouble but later decides otherwise.

LordKelvin

More mistakes in The Third Man

Harry Lime: What did you want me to do? Be reasonable. You didn't expect me to give myself up... 'It's a far, far better thing that I do.' The old limelight. The fall of the curtain. Oh, Holly, you and I aren't heroes. The world doesn't make any heroes outside of your stories.

More quotes from The Third Man

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