---
name: "Carol Reed"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/carol-reed"
fi1m_id: "carol-reed"
imdb_id: "nm0715346"
tmdb_id: 15378
wikidata_id: "Q95143"
roles: ["Director","Producer"]
born: "30 December 1906"
died: "25 April 1976"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 83
average_as: "director"
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-09-25T04:02:08.398804+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Carol Reed

## Identity

Carol Reed

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/carol-reed
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** carol-reed
- **IMDb ID:** nm0715346
- **TMDB ID:** 15378
- **Wikidata ID:** Q95143
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Reed, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q95143, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0715346/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/15378

Director and producer. Born 30 December 1906 in Putney, London, England, UK. Died 25 April 1976.

## Details

- **Work:** Director, Producer
- **Born:** 30 December 1906, Putney, London, England, UK
- **Died:** 25 April 1976
- **Active:** 1947–1968
- **Also known as:** Кэрол Рид
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won · 2 nominated)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 83, as director, over 3 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1940s 87 (2), 1960s 76 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 83 to 79 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 2, Thriller 2, Crime 1, Family 1, Mystery 1
- **Screen time:** 6 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $39m across 2 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Reed, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q95143, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0715346/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/15378

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*The Third Man*](https://film.one/film/the-third-man.md) (92), [*Oliver!*](https://film.one/film/oliver.md) (76)
- **HBO Max:** [*Odd Man Out*](https://film.one/film/odd-man-out.md) (82)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Carol Reed

> Carol Reed makes streets threatening and misplaced loyalty painfully understandable. We rate him highest when his care for actors matches his appetite for shadows, as it does in *The Third Man*, a thriller worth returning to.

In *The Third Man* (1949), Holly Martins writes mysteries but cannot reliably judge the people in front of him. Joseph Cotten makes that failing human, and Reed keeps the enquiry moving without letting us forget how much Martins wants to believe in his friend. We worried about him because Cotten makes that loyalty understandable, even when it clouds his judgement. This is Reed at his most rewarding: a director who can make a thriller gripping without treating its people as a means of supplying the next clue.

The route there runs through the social drama of *The Stars Look Down* (1939), the thriller *Night Train to Munich* (1940) and wartime documentary work, including co-directing *The True Glory* (1945). *Odd Man Out* (1947) begins the concentrated post-war stretch, followed by *The Fallen Idol* (1948) and *The Third Man*. The first brings documentary-influenced realism together with stylised images; the second makes room for Reed's sympathetic handling of child performance. It also begins his major collaboration with Graham Greene.

Greene's screenplay for *The Third Man* makes the investigation clear without making it easy, and editor Oswald Hafenrichter gives the actors time within it. Robert Krasker's tilted views and shadows make Vienna threatening, while Reed's location work among real rubble keeps it recognisable as somewhere people have to live. That combination matters more than any single clever angle. Some of the tilts draw attention to themselves before we notice the person in the shot, and a few relationships need more space. Yet the film remains worth returning to after the mystery has lost its novelty, because the question of what friendship excuses does not go away.

The later career is less consistent, with scripts sometimes failing him and commercial demands getting in the way. Dependence on good collaborators is a fair criticism, but we would still credit Reed for how well Greene's writing and Krasker's photography work together. The later Greene collaboration *Our Man in Havana* (1960) takes him towards lighter satire. Begin with *The Third Man*, and do not let anyone explain the mystery beforehand.

## Biography

Carol Reed (30 December 1906 – 25 April 1976) was an English film director and producer. He began his career in the theatre before moving into film as a dialogue coach in the early 1930s and directing his first feature, *Midshipman Easy*, in 1935. He directed documentaries during the Second World War, including *The True Glory* (1945).

Reed achieved international recognition in the late 1940s with a series of films made in collaboration with writer Graham Greene: *Odd Man Out* (1947), *The Fallen Idol* (1948) and *The Third Man* (1949), on which he also served as producer. *The Third Man* won the Palme d'Or at Cannes. Later work included *Our Man in Havana* (1959), *The Agony and the Ecstasy* (1965) and the musical *Oliver!* (1968), for which he received the Academy Award for Best Director. He was the first British film director to be knighted.

*Sources: britannica.com, en.wikipedia.org.*

## On Fi1m (3)

- *Oliver!* (1968), Fi1m 76, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/oliver.md)
- *The Third Man* (1949), Fi1m 92, as UK Version's Opening Narrator (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/the-third-man.md)
- *Odd Man Out* (1947), Fi1m 82, Director, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/odd-man-out.md)

## Complete filmography (35)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Follow Me!* (1972), Director
- *Flap* (1970), Director
- *Oliver!* (1968), Director — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/oliver.md)
- *The Agony and the Ecstasy* (1965), Director, Producer
- *The Running Man* (1963), Director, Producer
- *Our Man in Havana* (1960), Producer, Director
- *The Key* (1958), Director
- *Trapeze* (1956), Director
- *A Kid for Two Farthings* (1955), Director, Producer
- *The Man Between* (1953), Director, Producer
- *Outcast of the Islands* (1951), Director, Producer
- *The Third Man* (1949), as UK Version's Opening Narrator (uncredited) · Producer, Director — Fi1m 92, [page](https://film.one/film/the-third-man.md)
- *The Fallen Idol* (1948), Director, Producer
- *Odd Man Out* (1947), Director, Producer — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/odd-man-out.md)
- *The True Glory* (1945), Director
- *The Way Ahead* (1944), Director
- *The New Lot* (1943), Director
- *The Young Mr. Pitt* (1942), Director
- *We Serve* (1942), Director
- *Letter from Home* (1941), Director
- *Kipps* (1941), Director
- *Night Train to Munich* (1940), Director
- *Girl in the News* (1940), Director
- *The Stars Look Down* (1940), Director
- *A Girl Must Live* (1939), Director
- *Climbing High* (1938), Director
- *Penny Paradise* (1938), Director
- *Bank Holiday* (1938), Director
- *Who's Your Lady Friend?* (1937), Director
- *Talk of the Devil* (1936), Director
- *Laburnum Grove* (1936), Director
- *Midshipman Easy* (1935), Director
- *It Happened in Paris* (1935), Director
- *Autumn Crocus* (1934), Assistant Director
- *Loyalties* (1933), Assistant Director

## Gallery

- ![Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie : [ onbekend ] Beschrijving : Fillmregisseur Carol Reed (van de film "The Third Man") in Amsterdam D (1950)](https://film.one/media/person/59075/gallery-a7480ca34f69.jpg) Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie : [ onbekend ] Beschrijving : Fillmregisseur Carol Reed (van de film "The Third Man") in Amsterdam D (1950) — Jack de Nijs for Anefo  / Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Fillmregisseur_Carol_Reed_%28van_de_film_The_Third_Man%29_in_Amsterdam%2C_Bestanddeelnr_903-7969.jpg/1280px-Fillmregisseur_Carol_Reed_%28van_de_film_The_Third_Man%29_in_Amsterdam%2C_Bestanddeelnr_903-7969.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie : [ onbekend ] Beschrijving : Fillmregisseur Carol Reed (van de film "The Third Man") in Amsterdam D (1950)](https://film.one/media/person/59075/gallery-c8cba8395e11.jpg) Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie : [ onbekend ] Beschrijving : Fillmregisseur Carol Reed (van de film "The Third Man") in Amsterdam D (1950) — Jack de Nijs for Anefo  / Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Fillmregisseur_Carol_Reed_%28van_de_film_The_Third_Man%29_in_Amsterdam%2C_Bestanddeelnr_903-7970.jpg/1280px-Fillmregisseur_Carol_Reed_%28van_de_film_The_Third_Man%29_in_Amsterdam%2C_Bestanddeelnr_903-7970.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Carol Reed](https://film.one/media/person/59075/gallery-41bdeaf2cedb.png) Carol Reed — Jack de Nijs for Anefo  / Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Fillmregisseur_Carol_Reed_%28van_de_film_The_Third_Man%29_in_Amsterdam%2C_Bestanddeelnr_903-7970_%28cropped%29.png?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Carol Reed](https://film.one/media/person/59075/gallery-cdae636d5aba.jpg) Carol Reed — Image via TMDB
- ![Carol Reed](https://film.one/media/person/59075/gallery-8893d131fc0f.jpg) Carol Reed — Image via TMDB
- ![Carol Reed](https://film.one/media/person/59075/gallery-ea86a1939624.jpg) Carol Reed — Image via TMDB
- ![Carol Reed](https://film.one/media/person/59075/gallery-a2c4de10c2cf.jpg) Carol Reed — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 1 won, 2 nominated

- 1969: Best Director (won), for *Oliver!*
- 1951: Best Director (nominated), for *The Third Man*
- 1950: Best Director (nominated), for *The Fallen Idol*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/carol-reed