The Third Potato

Saddam Hussein is simple. Villains are often simple. Alone in the desert, thumbing his nose at the world. Armed, dangerous, easy to hate. But so hard to catch. Why? In the westerns, the hero rode alone. The villains always had a gang. Think Gary Cooper. High Noon (1952). The hero always won. In international politics, though, that elegance disappears. Too many cooks? Try too many allies. The common enemy suddenly gets complicated. The Third Man (1949) knows this. A film noir with real profundity, the movie is home to one of moviedom's great villains: Harry Lime. Yet Orson Welles' performance is very nearly secondary; Harry Lime is a creation of his American friend (Joseph Cotten), his lover (Alida Valli), his pursuer (Trevor Howard). Of the Americans, the British, the Russians, the French. And they're all tripping over themselves to get to him.

CP knows you know all about the uneasy U.N. The French and Russians want Saddam's oil. The U.S. and Britain want his weapons. Kuwait wants his head. The Saudis can't decide, and the Chinese don't seem to care. Everybody wanted Harry Lime, too. But to get him, you have to choose a side. It gets ugly.

CP urges you to rent this one. Please. But if you don't rewind . . . KAPUT.