The Fallen Idol (1948)

The "idol" is Baines (Ralph Richardson), the butler in the French embassy in London and the ambassador's little son, Philippe (Bobby Henrey), is the one who loves and worships him. Baines is devoted to the boy and never tires of spending time him, regaling him with tall tales that Philippe believes, of course. One day, Baines asks Philippe to keep a big secret from the hateful Mrs. Baines and this secret eventually changes all of their lives.This is a wonderful movie. Richardson is flawless and little Bobby Henrey gives one of the very best child performances ever. He is completely natural, a real boy who dotes on his pet snake and would do anything for Baines, and acts in both English and French. The story is a domestic drama turned homicide investigation and it kept me on the edge of my seat. Heartily recommended.

The Fallen Idol (AKA: The Lost Illusion) is directed by Carol Reed and adapted to a screenplay by Graham Green from his own short story called The Basement Room. Additional dialogue was scripted by Lesley Storm and William Templeton, the music is by William Alwyn and Georges Périnal is the cinematographer. It stars Ralph Richardson, Bobby Henrey, Michèle Morgan, Sonia Dresdel and Denis O'Dea.Film is told thru the eyes of Phillipe (Henrey), the young son of a diplomat living at the French Embassy in London. With his parents often away from home, Phillipe has latched onto the family butler, Baines (Richardson), for friendship and guidance. Baines regales the boy with fanciful tales of adventure, but in truth Baines himself is unhappy, stuck in a loveless marriage to the shrewish Mrs. Baines (Dresdel). When Bobby happens upon Baines in the company of a young woman named Julie (Morgan), it thrusts the youngster into a world he doesn't understand, and when a tragedy occurs, Bobby is in danger of shattering the friendship between Baines and himself.The first of Graham Greene's literary works to be directed by the great Carol Reed, The Fallen Idol took some time to come out of The Third Man's shadow and be heralded in its own right. What transpires over 95 minutes is a tight psychological thriller that leaves a lasting image of childhood confusion, disillusionment and the innocence that's lost. Throw into the mix adult secrets, human conundrums and a gripping mystery investigation at its peak, and it's not hard to see why it's such a well revered picture. It's also a film that thrives on dialogue, again not surprising given that Green himself always said it was the best film adaptation of his work, while some of the deep-focus photography from Périnal adds real atmosphere to the proceedings. Richardson is superb, and he leads a hugely effective cast, where Dresdel is scarily witch like and Henrey, plucked from nowhere to star as the naive boy, paints an indelible portrait of a child struggling to comprehend the mysterious world of the adults around him. In support there is quality thespians such as Bernard Lee and Jack Hawkins. The ending is notably different to that in the original story, and no doubt about it, the original ending would have garnered a different reaction from many. But Greene was happy to change his own source for the screen, so if it's good enough for him then it surely is good enough for us? Certainly time has been kind to The Fallen Idol, it's Hitchcockian feel blended with literary smarts has made it a lasting favourite of critics and fans alike. 8.5/10

Mr Baines (Ralph Richardson) and his wife (Sonia Dresdel) are left to look after a boy, Phillipe (Bobby Henrey) in a French Embassy house while the parents are away. Phillipe looks up to Mr Baines while disliking Mrs Baines, the housekeeper. He discovers Baines meeting up with another woman Julie (Michele Morgan) and is told to keep it a secret from Mrs Baines. However, she finds out with disastrous consequences...This film is well acted. Ralph Richardson gives a performance that holds back a little and is just on the right side of frustrating while my favourites in the cast are Sonia Dresdel and Dennis O'Dea who plays "Inspector Crowe". Scenes that stand out for me include the section where Mrs Baines is hiding in the house one night and we get a genuinely scary moment. I also found Inspector Crowe extremely watchable in his attempt to get the truth from Phillipe towards the end of the film and he delivers the wonderful line - "Will someone get this child out of here!" I found the film involved me gradually as it played out. The beginning was pretty mild and not very exciting as we focus on the rather annoying Phillipe with his strange accent. They should have cast someone else. However, the dialogue wins through at the end of the day and he gets some great lines, eg, when the police are in the middle of their investigation, he confides to Julie "we must think up more lies and keep telling them". Brilliant. And when he discovers that Mrs Baines has killed his pet "MacGregor", he puts forward the following as the epitaph for the burial - "MacGregor - killed by Mrs Baines - and the date". Genius.Another great quote comes when Dora Bryan who plays a prostitute called "Rose" is given the job of trying to find out who Phillipe is when he shows up at the police station.

Before they made 'The Third Man', director Carol Reed and screenwriter Graham Greene collaborated on this mild-mannered suspense story, in which a precocious young boy's devotion to one of his father's servants is tested after he witnesses what appears to be his long-suffering idol pushing his wicked wife to her death down a flight of stairs. An investigation follows, but the film isn't really a mystery since the audience already knows more about what happened than any of the characters on screen. Truth will prevail, although the outcome is ambiguous: the police set matters straight, but they do so from a clue that has no connection to the suspected crime. If the film appears dated today it's only because they don't often make them of this high caliber anymore.