Joe Pesci

2018

Movies and TV

Harry Lime is a fictional character most famously portrayed by Orson Welles in the 1949 film noir classic, The Third Man. He is also a central figure in Graham Greene's novella of the same name, upon which the film is based.

Lime is initially presented as a charming but elusive figure, an American expatriate living in post-World War II Vienna. He is supposedly dead, killed in a traffic accident just before the arrival of his friend, pulp western writer Holly Martins. However, as Martins investigates Lime's death, a darker picture emerges, revealing Lime as a ruthless racketeer involved in selling diluted penicillin on the black market, causing severe illness and death, particularly among children.

Lime's charisma and persuasive nature are key to his success in the criminal underworld. Despite the horrific consequences of his actions, he justifies them with a cynical worldview, famously delivered in a speech from the Prater Ferris wheel. Ultimately, he is confronted with the consequences of his choices and faces justice, albeit reluctantly, through the intervention of Martins and the British military police. His unforgettable character and ambiguous morality cemented his place in cinematic history.