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The Fallen Idol [Non-US Format, PAL, Region 2, Import]

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Carol Reed was perhaps even more famous in his day for coaxing superb performances out of children than Steven Spielberg is today... and much of it is due to the astonishing performance in this marvelous film by Bobby Henrey as Phillipe, the son of the French Ambassador to the UK. Henrey delivers what must be one of the greatest child's performances ever on screen (right up there with little Victoire Thivisol in PONETTE). Phile idolizes the butler at the embassy, the sweet but very ordinary Baines (Ralph Richardson), and when his hero becomes accused of murder in the death of his wife young Phile becomes wrapped up in the police investigation. The film does a superb job switching back and forth from a child's to an adult's register--we see things both from Phile's limited child's point of view (and understand his inability to put things together given his naievete), and we also see from an adult perspective how his attempts to help his idol only make things worse and worse. The film is beautifully shot--the embassy itself is something of a marble and tile wonder--and Henrey's frantic need for attention and his jumpy manner (and endearing lisp: "He PUTHED her...") make him seem as real a small child as you can imagine.

Some reviewers think Greene's film scripts resemble Hitchcock. They don't. See my review of The Third Man. Greene's major concern in everything he wrote was the question of guilt: in other words, original sin. His concern is with right and wrong, and the machinations of the devil in man. Hitchcock is not concerned with right and wrong. He is interested in Freudian motivation, apart from wanting to give the audience a roller-coaster suspense ride. Greene is not interested in Freud in the slightest. He inserts a clinical scalpel into the convoluted morality of human behaviour, and then twists it. There is extreme tension, of course: how will the plot lines be resolved? In fact, the happy ending of this screenplay is a minor cop-out: but it would be unbearable to have Baines shoot himself. But the viewer is still left wondering what the long-term effect of these experiences will be on the totally confused and disillusioned young boy. Somehow, one feels, the cycle of muddle and deceit will be repeated in the future. This film is much, much more subtle and intellectually sophisticated than anything produced by Hitchcock. Which is why it could hardly have made a fraction of the money pulled in by Hitch.

The reviewer who said this film was shot in a mansion in Chelsea, South London, could not be more wrong. The street locations for the film were in the area of Regent's Park, where the London Zoo is still situated, well north of Oxford Street.

This is a wonderful movie, superbly written. It has such a subtle way about the frustration of two incompatible spouses, the last-ditch attempt of one to change his life for the better, and his relationship with a young boy in his charge who understands nothing and looks up to him. Ralph Richardson is truly great in this. I love this movie for all its fine touches. I've seen it over and over. The viewer must like movies that really pay attention to how human beings behave, good and bad, and the little fictions they make up to get along in a difficult life.

I haven't seen "The Fallen Idol" in probably twenty years. While regarded as a masterpiece, my recollections largely involved an annoying child. So with Criterion's release, I was eager to revisit this work with adult eyes. I can't honestly say that I still didn't find that child somewhat annoying--because he was. But his need for love and attention are critical to "The Fallen Idol," for it is his actions and emotional state that propel the film.

The story unfolds from the viewpoint of Phillipe, the child of a French ambassador. Left largely to his own devices within the embassy, Phillipe has formed a close bond with Mr. Baines, the family butler. He is enchanted by Mr. Baines' stories, as well as spoiled and indulged by the kind hearted man. Baines' wife plays the role of the disciplinarian, so the pair often evade her more stern ways. The film establishes all of the primary relationships effectively, and then moves into the more conventional plot as we discover Baines is having an affair with an embassy secretary.

The striking thing about "The Fallen Idol" is that the narrative is shown completely through Phillipe's eyes. We can see only as much as he is privy to. So we get bits and pieces of the adult story interwoven with the more typical aspects of being a child. Of course, what we glimpse makes more sense to us than to the 8-year-old. We see a marriage on the brink of destruction, we see a torrid affair, we see the emotional confrontations, and we see tragedy strike. And we understand what is happening--but we're not off the hook. We are linked to Phillipe, who is well meaning yet confused. As he tries to do what is right for Mr. Baines--he tells lies he shouldn't, keeps secrets he shouldn't, and then tries to tell the truth when it might be detrimental. The suspense of "The Fallen Idol" comes completely from Phillipe's misguided attempts to help--as he continually makes things worse.

The clever screenplay, based on a Graham Greene story, builds tension is this unorthodox way--it is more psychologically unnerving than a true "thriller." The film benefits from a couple of great performances. Ralph Richardson is perfect as Mr. Baines, a relatively good man trapped by circumstances. And I particularly liked Sonia Dresdel, whose Mrs. Baines is frightening but in a believable way.

Some comparisons have been made between the style of this film and early Hitchcock, and those are apt observations. Particularly noteworthy is the use of a paper airplane as a damning piece of evidence (Hitch often used mundane objects to convey menace). As it sails through the air, this innocent object provides one of the film's most tense moments. Recommended highly, this is still a relevant and original work. Very simple, yet very effective. KGHarris, 11/06.

Phillipe, the 8-year-old son of the ambassador, bored and lonely, has been left in the charge of Baines, the embassy butler, and his wife. The ambassador has gone to bring back his wife, who has been ill for several months. Phillipe (Bobby Henrey) idolizes Baines (Ralph Richardson), who talks to him, tells him stories, takes him for walks and pays attention to him. Baines' wife (Sonia Dresdel), however, is a shrew. She has little patience for Phillipe, she runs the housekeeping side of the embassy with an iron hand, and she is unshakeable in her commitment to the cold, loveless marriage she has with her husband. She doesn't know, quite yet, that Baines and Julie (Michele Morgan), a secretary in the embassy, have been meeting secretly each week for months, just for tea or a private walk. They love each other but seem to find no way to break free of his marriage. And then Mrs. Baines, after an hysterical argument when she discovers Julie, is found dead at the foot of the grand stairway in the embassy. Phillipe thinks Baines killed her and is determined to protect him. His lies make things much, much worse.

This is a marvelous film, full of irony and subtlety. Phillipe is too young to grasp the meaning of much of what he sees and hears. He unexpectedly interrupts a meeting between Baines and Julie in a tea shop. She is telling Baines she will be leaving; that their relationship is hopeless. Baines is trying to find someway for her to stay, if even for just a day or two more. Suddenly there is Phillipe, happy to find Baines, climbing onto a seat next to them, having a pastry, observing what Baines and Julie are saying to each other so quietly and intensely, and believing when Baines says they are talking about a friend and that Julie is his niece. Something is happening, he knows, but he simply doesn't register how desperately they want to talk to each other without pretense.

Phillipe tells fibs, especially to protect McGregor, his small pet snake, from Mrs. Baines' anger. When she accuses him of telling lies, Baines tries to protect Phillipe by saying that there are lies and there are lies...that some lies can simply be a kindness to protect others. Mrs. Baines finds ways to trap Phillipe into admitting he met Baines' "niece." When she dies, Baines tries to find ways to use lies...or at least not the full truth...to protect Julie. Phillipe lies to the police in an effort to protect Baines. The conclusion of the film is a masterpiece of amusing irony when we realize the truth might be more dangerous to Baines than Phillipe's lies.

Carol Reed directed The Fallen Idol in 1948. The year before he gave us Odd Man Out. In 1949 came The Third Man. Then Outcast of the Islands in 1952. That's four incredible films, one right after the other. And don't forget Our Man in Havana in 1959. The Fallen Idol, The Third Man and Our Man in Havana were collaborations with Graham Greene. These movies are not just literate and often amusing, they're thoughtful and often uneasy. And all are stunning to look at.

The Fallen Idol gives us two great performances, or rather one great performance and one performance great despite itself. Ralph Richardson as Baines is as understated as the character. We're witnessing a character full of emotion and longing, yet so carefully proper and repressed it hurts. Baines relationship with Phillipe is genuine, yet in many ways it's based on lies and made-up stories. This is one of Richardson's best performances. As Phillipe, Bobby Henrey does a masterful job, but that's because of the patience and skill of Carol Reed and the cleverness of the film editor. Henrey was a nonprofessional who got the part because Reed thought he looked exactly like the kind of young boy Phillipe would look like. As a person who worked on the film with Reed said later, Henrey couldn't act and "had an attention span of a demented flea." Reed took infinite pains to gain Henrey's friendship and confidence. He would walk the boy through the part, usually standing in for Richardson when Richardson would have been off camera feeding Henrey lines. He shot miles of film with Henrey, and then spliced the bits and pieces together into coherent reaction shots. You'll note that Henrey has almost no scenes that go for more than a word or sentence before there are cutaways. Even so, the result is a great film portrayal of a little boy, Phillipe, who can be irritating, impatient and willful, and yet touching in his determination protect his friend, Baines.

The Criterion release of The Fallen Idol includes an excellent booklet with three essays on the film and a fine 2006 documentary, A Sense of Carol Reed, with interviews from other directors. The DVD transfer is excellent.

Ralph Richardson stars as Baines, butler to an ambassador, who is having an affair with an embassy employee. The ambassador's young son Phillipe, played by Bobby Henrey, idolizes the butler. When his wife accidentally falls to her death following an argument with him, Richardson finds himself the only suspect in her murder. Henrey, believing Richardson to be guilty but wanting to protect him, lies to the police to help out. But lies have gotten Richardson into this mess, and more lies only make it worse. The film is quite suspenseful as it goes on, and the scene with the paper airplane is justifiably well remembered for the way it ups the tension. Richardson, as usual, is excellent, as is young Henrey and Sonia Dresdel as the shrew wife. The Fallen Idol grows on you with each passing frame and lie. It's another great film from 1940's England.

Crackerjack little suspense thriller based on a Graham Greene story about a boy (played by Bobby Henrey) who idolizes the butler (Ralph Richardson) in his residence. Set in a foreign embassy in London, Richardson is having an affair with the embassy secretary (Michele Morgan) and is almost convicted of murdering his battleaxe of a wife (Sonia Dresdel). Keeping secrets and telling little lies, which everyone bombards Henrey with, have a lot to do with the suspense of the movie. The ending, where Henrey almost unwittingly sticks his foot in his mouth to re-implicate Richardson after his innocence has been established is wonderful. The two lovers are a bit pale and bloodless for a couple so illicitly in love, but that's a minor fault in this excellent movie. Carol Reed's direction is superb, especially his work with Henrey.

This is one of the great but previously-near-forgotten films, based on Graham Greene's short story "The Basement Room." It's the tale of a French ambassador's son left alone with the household staff at the embassy in London for a weekend while a spot of domestic intrigue slowly unfolds.

What more could you want? Here you've got: one of the great performances in film history by a child actor (coaxed painstakingly by Reed from Bobby Henrey); another superb performance by Ralph Richardson; one of those stories that, like Seth Holt's 1965 film "The Nanny," portrays the sometimes terrifying world of childhood; an incredibly inventive suspense narrative; and a late, third-act appearance by Denis O'Dea as the suave and frighteningly-competent Chief Inspector Crowe.

This is a truly remarkable piece of film. I'll take this one over Reed's other excellent films any day of the week: "Odd Man Out," "Our Man in Havana," "The Third Man," etc. So many of Reed's best films were Greene adaptations, and this one may actually exceed the impact of the source material. This film has all the power of a great Hitchock film.

Note: this Criterion DVD includes a fascinating 23-minute documentary short, "A Sense of Carol Reed," featuring interviews with director John Boorman and a handful of Reed's collaborators.

It is unfortunate that the Criterion issue of Reed's film has several missing frames in the sequence in which Sonia Dresdel notices Bobby Henrey on the dangerous ledge. The British issue has exactly the same defect (as well as being inferior in every other way). Clearly both issues used the same damaged print. Otherwise, the American disc is up to the usual high Criterion standards. - Anthony Baker, Somerset, England

THE FALLEN IDOL fits between ODD MAN OUT and the THIRD MAN, considered by some as Carol Reed's trilogy. It's filled with clever plot turns, terrific understated performances and contains one of the most brilliant child performances in film. Lots to recommend it--atmosphere (a palatial French embassy in London), intrigue (a dreary marraige and secret love affair), and an accidental death that could be murder. All of this is seen through the eyes of a child who must translate what he sees and hears as he desperately tries to save his "idol"--the man who runs the embassy while his father is away--from being arrested for murder. Charming, playful, and romantic in the beginning, the film becomes increasingly tense and nerve wracking. It holds you on the edge until the last moment. Highly recommended for teenagers who need to think and discuss issues like the shifting nature of truth.