Television
Third Danger Man
FORSTER By PETER Third Danger Man Evening in Hong Kong; elderly man carrying attache case gets out of cab in front of hotel. Fast car sweeps round corner; shots ring out, man falls dead amid crescendo of music. The credit titles follow.
Now a shot of the Capitol dome, Washington, then an office with backcloth of same to which the Chief has sent for the third Danger Man. He shows him newspaper with photo of murder victim. `Do you know this man?' TDM does not. 'You know what he was carrying?' No.' 'Well, you must get Them back.'
Over to aeroplane cabin en route Vienna. TDM takes seat beside best available blonde. Laconic flirtation ensues over martinis, then crashing chord—for, as she opens her handbag, TDM glimpses photo therein of dead man.
On arrival in Vienna, he refuses lift to hotel from blonde, immediately afterwards has to throw himself clear in order to avoid being run down by fast car while leaving airport, but gets its number.
Early evening in TDM's hotel: phone rings and TDM is invited for drinks by blonde. Out- (Continued on page 16)
side her apartment block (crashing chord) he notices same car. In apartment, seduction scene, interrupted by chords and phone calls, during which blonde denies knowledge of dead man. However, when shown photo she admits he was her uncle, but she insists she does not know where They are.
On leaving, TDM notices car following him. Back at his hotel he arranges neat ambush for Fat Character Actor who follows him to room, but is as neatly slugged by second FCA who follows first.
Over to spacious cabin of small Greek steamer plying through the Bosphorus, where TDM awakes to find blonde, both FCAs and new Thin Ditto looking down at him on bunk. 'Where are They?' asks TCA. 'I thought you had Them!' snarls back TDM. Beating-up ensues: when this too vicious to watch, blonde averts eyes and leaves room, camera following, but soundtrack still vivid.
TDM regains consciousness in small house in Algerian Casbah. Can hear others in next room discussing him, and plotting his disposal. Blonde comes in to commiserate. 'You're in a bad way,' she says, and TDM nods back, show- ing badly messed-up hair. When she goes, he notices she has left cigarette lighter to hand, and he quickly burns himself free.
As chords swell, TDM arranges stratagem against three CAs by ingenious method of balancing water-jug above door. Fist fight en- sues (running time, five minutes), and TDM only saved by intervention of blonde, who is herself shot bloodlessly in process. 'Are you sure you don't know where They are?' pants TDM. With dying gesture she points to the cigarette lighter, which he swiftly dismembers, duly finding that They are safe.
Back to cabin of former plane. TDM in same seat, but with blonde's seat empty beside him. He orders two martinis, clinks both glasses as if one is hers, and downs one after the other. Planes swoops into Washington, narrowly avoid- ing Capitol dome, and TDM is met by the Chief, to whom he reports assignment completed.
Final sequences are accompanied by increas- ingly noisy repetition of the Third Danger Man Theme, or the TDM Theme as it is usually re- ferred to. Care should be taken when pro- nouncing this title not to let TDM sound the same as tedium.
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