Why did Cary Grant turn down ‘The Third Man’?
The odds of a man born in Bristol called Archibald becoming one of the most iconic stars in Hollywood history seem lengthy, to put it generously, only for Cary Grant to accomplish just that when he crossed the Atlantic, adopted his stage name, and embarked on a legendary career.
Starting off in dramas and gangster films, which were the easiest ways for an aspiring actor to break into American cinema in the early 1930s, Grant didn’t hit his stride until he became indelibly associated with the screwball comedy.
His combination of statuesque physicality, rugged good looks, effortless charm, and natural charisma made him a perfect fit for the genre, and his stock continued to rise when titles like The Awful Truth, Bringing Up Baby, His Girl Friday, and The Philadelphia Story secured instant classic status.
Grant knew he couldn’t be an affable romantic lead forever, though, and diversified through his Academy Award-nominated turns in Penny Serenade and None but the Lonely Heart before adding some much-needed edge and moral ambiguity to his established persona by teaming up with Alfred Hitchcock for Suspicion, Notorious, To Catch a Thief, and North by Northwest.
In the middle of his four-film collaboration with ‘The Master of Suspense’, by which time his credentials for lending gravitas, grit, and steel to tightly plotted noir mysteries were well established, Grant received an offer to star in a feature that would emerge as one of the most influential and impeccably crafted potboilers ever made: Carol Reed’s The Third Man.
The unforgettable introduction of Orson Welles’ Harry Lime might be one of the movie’s defining images, but it’s Joseph Cotten’s Holly Martin who sets the plot in motion when the American author touches down in Vienna to investigate the alleged murder of his childhood friend, only to be drawn into a wide-ranging conspiracy.
Cameras started rolling in the autumn of 1948, but Cotten was a last-minute addition to the ensemble. Initially, writer Graham Greene’s screenplay had piqued Grant’s interest, and he put himself forward on the condition that he be cast as either of the two leads. Even though he was much better suited to Martins than the enigmatic Lime, when a star of his calibre makes a demand, more often than not, it’ll be accepted.
However, Greene found his way into the story by writing The Third Man as a novella first before expanding the treatment into a script. With the start of production looming and no final draft in place, Grant backed out of the film in June 1948 after refusing to commit to the project without a finished screenplay in place that wouldn’t be subjected to alterations between his signing on and the first day on set.
Reed was already deep into pre-production by then, and Cotten was hired more out of convenience than necessity. The actor was under contract with The Third Man producer David O Selznick and was available when the film needed him to be, so he was drafted in at short notice as Grant’s replacement.
The Third Man was just fine without him, but it remains a fascinating ‘what if?’ scenario, were one of the best films of its era to pit Grant against Welles in what could have been a showdown for the ages.
What other iconic movie roles did Cary Grant turn down?
Big stars turn down big roles all the time, and as one of the industry’s marquee names, Grant was no different.
He could have been in Howard Hawks’ Red River opposite John Wayne; he refused to play Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady and suggested Rex Harrison reprise the role he originated on stage instead, which was a shrewd move when the latter won an Oscar for ‘Best Actor’, and he also declined the chance to appear in Billy Wilder’s Sabrina, William Wyler’s Roman Holiday, and George Cukor’s A Star Is Born.
All of them were memorable parts in major productions, but they can’t hold a candle to James Bond. Grant was author Ian Fleming’s number one candidate to bring 007 to the big screen in Dr No, and he already had a connection to the nascent franchise, having served as the best man at producer Cubby Broccoli’s wedding in 1959, three years before the secret agent made his cinematic debut.
Grant was definitely interested, but there was one obstacle that couldn’t be cleared. He was offered a five-picture contract to suit up and sport the tux, but because he was in his 50s at the time, he would only sign on for one. That was the deal-breaker, and instead of hiring one of Hollywood’s most notable names, an unknown Sean Connery – who was 26 years younger – got the nod.
