The Third Man Premieres.

In February, 1948, Alexander Korda, a leading figure in the British film industry and the founder of London Films, asked novelist Graham Greene to write a film for him. The film was to be about the four-power (American, British, French, and Soviet) occupation of postwar Vienna, and it would be directed by Carol Reed, who had recently filmed Greene’s The Fallen Idol (1948). Greene visited Vienna and returned with the story that became the film treatment for The Third Man (1949). Korda drafted Hollywood producer David O. Selznick to coproduce the film. Selznick came on board, supplying a large part of the budget and providing some of his American stars.