The Third Man Trivia Quiz

Answer: Vienna

The novel is set in post second war Vienna which, like Berlin, has been divided between four occupying powers - Russia, Britain, France and America. Harry Lime has invited an author friend to visit him and write about the work Lime is doing with the resettlement of refugees. We also learn about the restrictions on travel which still exist, and that only a small amount of sterling can be brought to Austria (and can't be spent there anyway).

Answer: Rollo

Rollo Martins and Harry Lime have been friends since their schooldays, and Lime is rather a hero to Martins. On his arrival in Vienna, Martins is shocked to find that Lime hasn't turned up to meet him, so takes a taxi to Lime's flat. There, he receives the news that Lime has been killed in an accident, and that his funeral is due to take place at any moment.

Answer: Buck Dexter

Martins is something of a 'hack', churning out cheap paperbacks about the American west which sell well but earn him little cash. The book has a sub plot where Martins is confused with another, much more accomplished, author by the name of Benjamin Dexter which adds to his sense of not knowing what is happening or who he can trust.

The other three options are all real authors of western novels.

Answer: Callaghan

Calloway sees Martins at the cemetery and strikes up an acquaintance without initially telling Martins that he is a police officer and had been investigating Harry Lime. Martins becomes drunk and mistakes his name, maybe deliberately to annoy him, although he does refer to him as Callaghan later in the book as well.

At this stage, both men believe Lime to be dead and Calloway has accepted his death as an accident. The book is told from Calloway's point of view, based on his personal observations and details given to him by Martins.

Answer: Penicillin

Remember that the book is set just after the war, when supplies of medicines are not readily available. Penicillin was available only in military hospitals, and Lime has been buying from an orderly named Harbin via other intermediaries. Calloway had just about managed to establish a link to Lime when the latter was killed. Martins is still not inclined to think the crime too serious, until he discovers that the drugs have been tampered with, to make them go further and increase profits, leading to the deaths of several children and the ruination of the mental health of many others.

Answer: Koch

Lime's friends, Kurtz and Cooler had, rather conveniently, both been around when Lime had his accident and Winkler, a doctor, had appeared soon after. Koch was Lime's neighbour and had looked out of his window when he heard the crash. He tells Martins that the man he saw, and thought to be Lime, was clearly dead immediately after the collision, contradicting the evidence given by the other witnesses.

In addition, and sealing his fate, he discloses that there had been another man at the scene - the third man. Martins passes the information to Cooler and from then on Koch's days are numbered.

The other three characters are all connected to the racket run by Lime and are far from innocent bystanders.

Answer: Actress

Martins first sees Anna at the cemetery, when he notices her weeping over Lime's (apparent) death. When Martins begins to suspect that Lime has been murdered, Anna is one of the people he tracks down. Martins soon convinces himself that he is in love with her. Anna's feelings are much more ambiguous, not least because she is living in fear of the Russians and at risk of being arrested as an illegal immigrant.

She is working as an actress, although she is described as being not very good at the job.

Answer: A bad toupee

Kurtz is described as wearing a badly fitting blond wig, which Martins assumes is to cover his baldness. When visiting him later in the book, he discovers that Kurtz has hair and realises that the toupee was part of a disguise. Kurtz has been acting as the middle man between the orderly and Lime in the medicine racket, and had been identified by Calloway as being involved.

Answer: Sewers

Martins has managed to work out that Lime is not dead, and is the third man at the scene of Lime's staged death - the real victim is Harbin, who had been stealing the drugs for the racketeers. Martins meets Lime at the amusement park and arranges another rendezvous, where the police intend to arrest Lime. Martins inadvertently gives the set up away, leading Lime to escape into the sewers where he shoots and kills one policeman before being shot himself by Martins. Lime will definitely be buried this time.

Answer: False

The ending of the novella is slightly more upbeat than that of the film, but only marginally. Lime's real funeral is attended by only three mourners - Anna, Martins and Calloway. Anna walks away, while Martins declines Calloway's offer of a lift back to town and runs after her. Calloway observes that she places her hand through Martins' arm, leaving the impression that there might just be a future for them as a couple.