"The Fallen Idol": A British tale of innocence and loyalty
The collaboration between director Carol Reed and author/screenwriter Graham Greene was uniquely symbiotic, bolstered by Reed's determination to serve the writer's intentions. Following his 1947 classic "Odd Man Out," Reed was at his creative peak when he recruited Greene to adapt his short story "The Basement Room" into what would become 1948's "The Fallen Idol." This near-perfect thriller is being reissued by Rialto Pictures prior to its Criterion Collection DVD release this year.
"Near perfect" may explain why "The Fallen Idol" is lesser known than Reed and Greene's second collaboration, "The Third Man," still the best of all films based on Greene's exquisite fiction. Both are classics, but just as Orson Welles' "The Magnificent Ambersons" rests in the shadow of "Citizen Kane," "The Fallen Idol" has taken a back seat to its flawless follow-up.
"The Fallen Idol," with Ralph Richardson, Michèle Morgan, Sonia Dresdel, Bobby Henrey. Directed by Carol Reed, from a screenplay by Graham Greene, based on Greene's short story "The Basement Room." 95 minutes. Not rated; suitable for all ages. Varsity, through Thursday.
This secondary status is arguably undeserved, since "The Fallen Idol" is equally impressive. More than "The Third Man," however, "The Fallen Idol" is a model of quintessentially British restraint, its very adult story told largely through the eyes, ears and skewed perception of a well-meaning 8-year-old boy.
Phil (played with natural precociousness by nonactor Bobby Henrey) is the son of a foreign ambassador, living in an expansive embassy in London's Belgrave Square. He idolizes the butler, Baines (Ralph Richardson), who dotes on the boy with playful, fatherly affection. Mrs. Baines (Sonia Dresdel), the housekeeper, is everything her husband is not: sour, cynical and stern to the point of cruelty. When she dies from an accidental fall, circumstances leave Baines suspected of murder. Phil may be innocently oblivious to Baines' affair with an embassy typist (Michèle Morgan), but he'll say almost anything to spare Baines from Scotland Yard's ensuing investigation.
Crafting plot through dynamic use of London locations and a magnificent embassy set designed by Vincent Korda, Reed and venerable cinematographer Georges Périnal set a fascinating, multilayered stage for Phil's dilemma, peaking with a giddy episode involving a paper airplane folded from incriminating "evidence."
Like much of the film, that sequence builds on Reed's impeccable combination of humor and hushed intensity. A lighter ending, agreeably changed by Greene from the original story, is imbued with Reed's gentlemanly propriety, but we still feel the sting of innocence lost.
Jeff Shannon: j.sh@verizon.net