All of the local Continental actors were big names both in film and on stage. Paul Hörbiger, Harry's porter, did not speak a word of English and learned his lines only phonetically. Anna's landlady was played by Hedwig Bleibtreu, the grande dame of the Burgtheater and great-grandmother of German star Moritz Bleibtreu, who was jokingly dubbed the "youngest eighty-year old" on the set. Baron Kurtz, Harry's chief confederate in crime, who cunningly hides his criminality behind the most ingratiating eyes, is played by the Ernst Deutsch, another outstanding personality in the theatrical life of Vienna. Erich Ponto, whose Dr. Winkel is another precious cameo, was the only German on the set and cast while touring Vienna's Josefstadt Theatre.
Orson Welles ............................ Harry Lime Joseph Cotten ........................... Holly Martins Alida Valli ................................. Anna Schmidt Trevor Howard .......................... Major Calloway Bernhard Lee ............................ Sergeant Paine Paul Hörbiger ............................ Harrys Hausmeister Hedwig Bleibtreu ....................... Annas Hausmeisterin Ernst Deutsch ........................... Baron Kurtz Siegfried Breuer ........................ Popescu, der Rumäne Erich Ponto ............................... Dr. Winkel Herbert Halbik ........................... Hansl