‘Writing with the lean, incisive tone of a Greene novel, Drazin has really put the work in. His background detail alone is inspiring…Delivers the definitive history and evaluation of a true great’ – Empire

 

‘Drazin has written an invaluable and well-illustrated chapter of film history, with a cast of colourful characters, a plot that’s full of intrigue, conflict and humour and the pace of a page-turning novel’ − Scotsman

 

‘[Drazin’s] eye for fascinating detail never supplants the poetry of the movie. We marvel all the more at the serendipitous way its creative spirits were brought together. Drazin’s 200 nimble pages convey more facts than many a more hefty book’

– Independent

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The Third Man remains an unsurpassed masterpiece of British cinema. Whether it is Harry Lime’s magical first appearance, or the celebrated cuckoo clock speech, or the haunting zither music, the film contains some of the most memorable moments in movie history. Drawing on both archival sources and the first-hand accounts of the people involved, In Search of The Third Man explores the many myths that over the years have grown around this extraordinary film, seeking to unravel the facts from the fiction. It is the story of not only a great movie but also a pivotal moment in twentieth-century history. Capturing with documentary precision the look and feel of a war-torn Vienna, The Third Man mirrored all the uncertainties and confusions of its time and anticipated the mood of the post-war age.