“Some girl of the Josefstadt Theatre. You know what Harry was.”
Por qué es buena
He gives her a stage and no name, then lets one shrug explain Harry for everyone.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
You know what Tom was, always late.
00:00 / 02:08
00:00 / 02:08
Martins Looks for the Girl, Explained
The Third Man · 1949
Capítulo 4 de 17 · 2'08"
Martins is not satisfied with the official story. Questioning the porter about who used to visit Lime, he learns a girl from the Josefstadt Theatre was at the funeral, and is warned off: "You oughtn't to speak to her. It would only cause her pain." He tears up his ticket home and books a seat for that night.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 1:35–2:06
Martins Refuses the Ticket Home
31s
Martins Looks for the Girl, explained
What happens
After Lime's funeral, Martins questions the hotel porter about who used to visit the dead man. He learns that a girl from the Josefstadt Theatre was at the funeral, but nobody will give her name. He refuses the plane ticket home and buys a seat for the theatre that night.
What's really going on
The scene is an interrogation disguised as an errand, and its subject is grief as much as detection. Martins keeps asking who came to Lime's funeral — "Who was at the funeral besides you?" — because he cannot accept the version he has been handed. The answers close every door: a doctor, a girl whose name nobody remembers, and a warning not to reopen the past: "What's the good of another post-mortem?" The phrase says it all, using the vocabulary of the morgue for the act of asking questions. What Martins is really doing is refusing to let Harry become a closed case, and the film makes his stubbornness both admirable and dangerous.
Key lines & what they mean
- “Some girl of the Josefstadt Theatre. You know what Harry was.”
- The only clue he will get about the woman at the funeral: a girl from a Vienna theatre, dismissed with a shrug that implies Harry's private life was complicated.
- “You oughtn't to speak to her. It would only cause her pain.”
- A warning meant as kindness: poking into the girl's connection to Lime would only hurt her, so Martins should leave her alone.
- “What's the good of another post-mortem?”
- The argument against his poking around: another investigation is like cutting open a body again, pointless and painful for everyone.
- “You'd do better to think of yourself.”
- Advice to drop the search and look after his own interests, which is also a hint that the city rewards self-preservation over loyalty.
- “One has to work the best way one can, you know.”
- The porter's philosophy of survival in occupied Vienna: everyone does whatever they must to get by.
- “- Here's the ticket for the plane tomorrow. - You tell the major I won't need it.”
- The offer of escape refused: the major sends a plane ticket, and Martins answers that he will not be leaving.
Theme
- Friendship — Martins refuses to accept Lime's death as a closed case, chasing every lead because the man was his friend.
- Secrets — Every answer hides the girl's name and Harry's real life, and Martins' questions keep pulling at what the city wants buried.
Qué aprendes en este capítulo
Puntos de enseñanza
Repasa justo después de verMi nivel3/6
A1–C2 es la escala MCER. Las tarjetas por encima del nivel elegido se atenúan y la reproducción no se pausa en ellas.
Puntos de lengua
Toca una tarjeta para saltar a ese momentoFrases de oro
Una gran frase en sí misma: por qué y cómo usarla“You oughtn't to speak to her. It would only cause her pain.”
Por qué es buena
A warning dressed as concern; the kindness is the lock on the door.
Registro
Formal
Úsala tú
Don't bring it up again; it would only cause her pain.
“What's the good of another post-mortem?”
Por qué es buena
One rhetorical question writes off the whole investigation as pointless, and does it politely.
Registro
Neutral
Úsala tú
What's the good of arguing with him again?
“You'd do better to think of yourself.”
Por qué es buena
Advice that sounds caring and works as a brush-off; it tells Martins to drop it and go.
Registro
Neutral
Úsala tú
You'd do better to focus on your own report.
“One has to work the best way one can, you know.”
Por qué es buena
It turns personal compromise into a law of nature, which is exactly how people excuse themselves.
Registro
Neutral
Úsala tú
One has to raise a family the best way one can.
“- Here's the ticket for the plane tomorrow. - You tell the major I won't need it.”
Por qué es buena
He refuses through a messenger, which keeps the fight going without ever facing Calloway.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
You tell the manager I won't need the room.
Siguiente · 05what difference does it makeLa escena: Martins Visits Anna After the FuneralIdeas clave
Lo que te llevas- Kurtz's kindness is a way of closing the case early.
- A stage name and a shrug do the work of a whole biography.
- Martins answers a plane ticket with a theatre ticket.
- Every courtesy in this scene has an angle.
Preguntas frecuentes
La pregunta, luego la fraseWhy does Martins want to find the girl?
Because she was at Lime's funeral and might know something about his death. He is not satisfied with the official explanation and wants witnesses who actually knew Lime.
What does "post-mortem" mean here?
Literally an examination after death, but here it means yet another rehashing of the case. The speaker is asking what good it does to dig up the whole story again.
Why does the porter refuse to give the girl's name?
He claims he does not know it, though he does mention her theatre. His evasiveness suggests he is protecting her, or himself, from further trouble.
Why does Martins turn down the plane ticket?
The ticket is Calloway's way of sending him home. Martins refuses because he intends to stay in Vienna and keep asking questions about Harry Lime.
What does Martins do at the end of the scene?
He orders a ticket for the Josefstadt Theatre that night, hoping to find the girl there, and reminds the man that Crabbin has offered him room at headquarters.