Gender Theory in The Third Man

Throughout the film The Third Man, the character ‘Baron’ Kurtz is viewed as a powerful person, but he shows many feminine character traits.  The fact that his name has the meaning of “Lord, power, or royalty”, is one reason why the audience may assume he has power. His name plays a big role in people first impression of him.  The scene that introduces Baron at the cafe, he comes off as a powerful person because of the way he speaks English with a heavy European accent.  The audience is given the notion that he is self confident, intelligent, but at the same time he gives off a creepy and secretive vibe.  The audience may get the sense that Baron is a very manipulative person, this may be his way of attempting to take advantage of Holly.  Throughout this scene he also shows character traits that you would normally see from the opposite gender (female).  He dresses very sophisticated and looks as if his clothing and style is important to him.  In this scene he is wearing a fancy dress coat with fur around the collar, and a polka dot bow tie, which could be considered a feminine way of dressing.  Fur coats are usually worn by women and it is a way to symbolize wealth and power. Baron Kurtz’s powerful personality is toned down by his feminine style of dressing.  His powerful personality is also toned down by him carrying a small dog around.  It is more stereotypical for a female to keep a small dog by her side, like a mother would a child.   In this cafe scene another example of Baron showing a lack of masculinity happens when Baron and Holly were walking down the street and they pass a police officer, Baron quickly moved out of the officer’s way. This shows Baron as having less power, it is as if he is afraid of the characters who have authority over him.  A cinematic element used in this scene is the use of a close-up shot and a medium close-up shot of Baron’s face and his little dog. These shots shows Baron’s power, but at the same time the shot is closing in on the way he is dressed and the way he is holding the dog, which is pointing out his femininity.  Baron has a powerful personality in this scene, but his feminine character traits portray him as less powerful.