Written by Mark Nicholls, lecturer in the Cinema Studies Program in the School of Fine Arts, Classical Studies and Archaeology at the University of Melbourne.This article deals with characters as themes within the film. Topics such as Good Citizens, Shedding Illusions,The law & Mitigation and friendship are covered. This is the first instalment in a series of studies of aspects of ‘The Third Man’ (Carol Reed, 1949) by Mark Nicholls. This article deals with characters as themes within the film, drawing on the complex and psychologically rounded characters in the narrative. Strangers in a strange land, illusion, the law and mitigation, good citizenship and friendship are all explored.