In the Shadow of the Cuckoo Clock. The Subversive Realism of the Third Man

With a view to exemplifying how film noir can effectively combine elements of expressionism and realism through a participatory viewing experience, this paper provides a discussion of The Third Man as a cinematic text that concomitantly reiterates traditional insular values in times of global conflict and strengthens the individuality of post-war British cinema against the pressures of the American film industry.