In pictures: On the set of British noir The Third Man, 70 years ago

Sam Wigley
By Sam Wigley
In pictures

As The Third Man returns to cinemas for its 70th anniversary, we publish rare behind-the-scenes photos and the script pages for the famous Ferris wheel sequence.

Shrouded in shadow, Orson Welles (playing racketeer Harry Lime) speaks with director Carol Reed during filming of the classic British thriller The Third Man (1949)BFI National Archive
Joseph Cotten (playing pulp author Holly Martins) lights a cigarette for Alida Valli (playing Lime's girlfriend Anna Schmidt) between takesBFI National Archive
Carol Reed studying script pages with Joseph Cotten between scenesBFI National Archive
Valli on location in postwar ViennaBFI National Archive
The Third Man (1949): Alida Valli behind the scenesBFI National Archive
Alida Valli with camera behind the scenes of The Third Man (1949)BFI National Archive
The cat who gives away Lime while he’s hiding in the doorwayBFI National Archive
Reed and Welles on locationBFI National Archive
Valli, who later worked with Luchino Visconti and Michelangelo Antonioni, among the studio lightsBFI National Archive
Regal treatment for The Third Man’s canine actorsBFI National Archive
Reed and Cotten with WellesBFI National Archive
Cinema hoardings during The Third Man’s first run, summer 1949BFI National Archive
The Third Man (1949) premiereBFI National Archive

Read the original script pages for the classic Ferris wheel scene – without the ‘cuckoo clock’ improvisation

The Third Man (1949) script pageBFI National Archive
The Third Man (1949) script pageBFI National Archive
The Third Man (1949) script pageBFI National Archive
The Third Man (1949) script pageBFI National Archive
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