19 Great Performances by Women Playing Love Interests

Anna Schmidt, played by Alida Valli (1921 – 2006), is comforted by a priest, as Holly Martins, played by Joseph Cotten (1905 – 1994), looks on, in ‘The Third Man’, directed by Carol Reed, 1949. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

18. Alida Valli (The Third Man)

The role: Anna Schmidt investigates the death of her mysterious lover, Harry Lime (Orson Wells), alongside Joseph Cotton’s pulp writer protagonist, Holly Martins.

Why she’s great: Anna isn’t your typical femme fatale. Pragmatic and reserved, dressed in drab trench coats instead of sleek gowns, she doesn’t cater to male fantasies; in this case, as the film’s ending confirms, the hero’s desire is firmly one-sided. Still, with her stern countenance, Valli suggests a woman with secrets, someone who’s mastered the art of self-preservation. Far from in over her head, she fits comfortably into the gloomy underworld of postwar Vienna, slipping undetected through the shadows like a fish through water. We never quite “solve” Anna, but with her mournful performance, Valli invites us to sympathize with her.

 Standout moment: Deported by the Russian occupiers on discovery of her Czech nationality, Anna encounters Holly in a train station café. She quickly realizes that he has agreed to assist the police in arresting Harry, but to Holly’s bewilderment, she refuses to escape to safety and instead remains loyal to her former flame. Here, Anna finally lowers her guard a little, and Valli lets loose, defiance smoldering in her eyes. When she insists that Harry is “still a part of me”, despite his poor treatment of her, you believe it.