Initially cautious about Anton Karas' music, David O. Selznick sent the following telegram to his VP from London. "November 25, 1949. TELEGRAM to Daniel T. O'Shea [Executive Vice President, Selznick Productions]. ...Cannot commence to tell you sensation caused by Karas's zither music in The Third Man. It is rage of England and has already sold more record copies than any other record in entire history of record business in England. It is widest-played dance music in England... Ads here use 'Hear Harry Lime Theme,' etc. in type dwarfing all other billing. It is one of those unpredictable, tremendous sensations that I cannot expect any of you to understand who have not been here. Entirely unrelated newspaper articles and editorials, even on politics, constantly refer to it. Inevitably, this success will be repeated America if we are prepared for it. We should be able to make fortune out of this music. Regards, David" By the time Selznick released the film in the U.S., in February 1950, the Harry Lime Theme was already a sensation. He capitalized on this by including the tag line, "Featuring the Famous Zither Score by Anton Karas... He"ll have in you a dither with his zither!" in the ad campaign and trailers.

Film

Nessun dato in archivio