78 RPM - Anton Karas - "The Third Man" Theme / The Cafe Mozart Waltz - London - USA

78 RPM Record

Artist:	Anton Karas
Label:	London
Country:	USA
Catalogue:	536
Date:	Feb 1950
Format:	10"
Collection:	I Own It I Want It
Community:	22 Own, 1 Wants
Price Guide:	$20
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PRICE GUIDE

$20

Track	Artist	Title	Composer	Rating
A	Anton Karas	"The Third Man" Theme	Anton Karas	10.0 Rate
B	Anton Karas	The Cafe Mozart Waltz	Anton Karas	9.5 Rate

Notes

from the "The Third Man"
Taken from the original sound track of the film
Anton Karas - Zither Solo

A mx: DDR.14059-1; B mx: 14060
Recorded London, May 16, 1949.

Represses:
From the A. David O. Selznick and Sir Alexander Korda production THE THIRD MAN
As performed by him in the Film

Also issued on 45 RPM as 30005

Billboard, Dec. 24, 1949, page 16: "2 Waxeries Burn, 3d Yearns in Picture Tune Release Hassle"

Billboard, Feb. 25, 1950, page 36: Advance Record Releases.

Billboard, March 11, 1950, page 18: London ad: "Release No. 24".

Images

Comments and Reviews


xiphophilos 29th May 2022		Added 1955 repress.



Jan Patrick 14th Aug 2020		New Version of this release with completely new Matrix Numbers. Originally released in December 1949 with matrix numbers DDR.14059 and DDR.14060. Repress of the 1950 reissue with new recordings and new matrix numbers (DR.14268 and DR.14269) and without the text "As performed by him in the Film" that was featured on "The Third Man" Theme / The Cafe Mozart Waltz. discogs.com/Anton-Karas-The-Third-Man-Theme-The-Cafe-Mozart-Waltz/release/9580917



xiphophilos 23rd Dec 2019		Thanks, fixbutte, that's very interesting. Apparently, Anton Karas' "Third Man Theme" was one of the new records presented to 250 guests at a Record Preview party in Los Angeles on December 24, 1949 (see the same Dec. 31, 1949 Billboard issue, page 71: "250 attend Record Review Party Held in Los Angeles". Could this "preview party", so the article text, be the source of the Retailer's Pick list? Or did the record indeed reach stores in the last week of the year, despite the legal wrangling? In any case, this record is finally listed among Billboard's Advance Record Releases in the February 25(!), 1950 issue, page 36. Moreover, the first London ad listing this record that I could find is in Billboard, March 11, 1950, page 18: London ad: "Release No. 24". So London 536 probably did not come out before late February/early March 1950! Finally, the Jan. 13, 1951 Billboard, page 18, lists Karas' "Third Man Theme" on 3rd place for retail sales in its list of "The Billboard's Fifth Annual Recapitulation of 1950's Top Tunes, Records and Artists."



fixbutte 23rd Dec 2019		May still have been released in Dec 1949 as London 536 was first listed in the Billboard of Dec 31, 1949, p. 26 as "The Retailers Pick", see there.



xiphophilos 22nd Dec 2019		I've changed the release date from Dec. 1949 to Jan. 1950 based on the attached Dec. 24, 1949 Billboard article Iabout the legal hassles that pushed the release date back to mid-January 1950 (or even later).



xiphophilos 14th Jun 2017		Here is the 45rpm version on London 30005 Tim mentioned. The notes below the video explain why the two versions differ. With the first version, taken directly from the soundtrack, the "main theme ends abruptly at 85 seconds into the actual movie soundtrack, and because 1:25 would have been unusually short in length for a commercial record release, the familiar hit version we hear was achieved simply by tacking on to the end a repeat of the first 45 seconds." The second version was then a different recording of a full-length performance.



xiphophilos 2nd Feb 2016		Thanks for your response anyway, Tim!



TimNeely 2nd Feb 2016		Sorry I'm coming back to this so late. I don't own either 78; I only own the 45 on 30005. I first became aware of two different recordings when I bought the Time-Life album Your Hit Parade: 1950 and noticed from the start that the recording on that set didn't match my 45. It was only then that I started to investigate.



Chartfan_MA 12th May 2015		It's really strange ... I am the owner of two 78s from "The Third Man" Theme - London 536 Both have the same matrix #s DR.14268 but a different label text. AND each version has a different arrangement from the other in the final 30 seconds of the song, that's strange! Version 1: The 78 with DR.14268 (536-A) has the same text as the label shown first with the YouTube from BigBadBluesMan here DDR.14059 (536-A) but sounds different!: “THE THIRD MAN” THEME (Anton Karas) From the A. David O. Selznick and Sir Alexander Korda production THE THIRD MAN ANTON KARAS – Zither Solo As performed by him in the Film Version 2: The other 78 with DR.14268 (536-A) only indicates “THE THIRD MAN” THEME (Anton Karas) from "The Third Man" ANTON KARAS – Zither Solo The matrix # DDR.14059 that can be heard in YouTube corresponds to my version 2! And it's identical with the current ebay offer mentioned. Additionally, it would be interesting how the 45 version sounds ... (btw, it has a totally different matrix # MRBF-365)



xiphophilos 9th May 2015		Tim, could you add a scan of the second, non-soundtrack version with the different matrix number? I noticed that you participated in a related discussion on the Steve Hoffman Music Forums (link) where someone shared a link to a comparison of both versions: https://app.box.com/shared/z951rmxjlq BTW, a copy of that record may be available on ebay right now. It's a bit difficult to tell because the image is so blurry, but the matrix number seems to be different, and the phrase "Taken from the original soundtrack of the film" is missing.



Jock_Girl 8th May 2015		So then why is it that UK 78s on Decca that have master number DDR.14059 say Taken from the sound track of the film -- I do note that the word original is not seen there Decca F.9235



TimNeely 8th May 2015		There are two distinctly different 78s of "The Third Man Theme," both of which are on London 536. The one pictured (419389 and 419390) contains a version taken directly from the soundtrack of the film. The A-side master number is DDR.14059 and the B-side has a master of DDR.14060. However, while the song was still on the charts, new versions of both songs were substituted on the 78. On that issue, the "Third Man Theme" master is DR.14268 and 'The Café Mozart Waltz" is DR.14269. The label copy also was changed, and it no longer states "Taken from the original sound track of the film." This substitution was made before the 45 was released on 30005, because it is these second versions that appear on the 45.



BigBadBluesMan 10th Apr 2015



BigBadBluesMan 10th Apr 2015