Customer Reviews
Wonderful and entertaining movie! - By: FAMOUS NAME, 15 Sep 2008 
Entertaining movie centred around a child & his adoration of 'Baines' - the man responsible for his father's house played by Raph Richardson.
This should be a good lesson as to when to tell children to speak the truth & when to tell a lie as both can have dire consequences... There's a touching scene in this when a Policeman has to coax the child to come to him as he runs away after witnessing a possible murder, & there's also a wonderful opportunity to see a young Dora Bryan excelling as a woman of 'loose' virtue with compassion!
The innocence of such children as 'Philip' have long since left us, & so such films would not work today.
Clock Watching - By: F. S. L'hoir, 14 Sep 2008 Carol Reed's "Falllen Idol," which I first saw as a child, withstands the test of time. Even though I didn't understand the adult implications of the plot then, I have never forgotten the story (still associating it with the little wooden-seated movie house where my father took the family every week to see British films). I was not disappointed; I found it just as absorbing--and even more compelling--half-a-century later.
The screenplay is, needless to say, excellent. Working closely with Carol Reed, Graham Greene rewrote his original short story, "The Basement Room." In "Falllen Idol," which takes place at a foreign embassy in London, Greene is actuallly revisiting the topic of a child's-eye-view of spying, loneliness, betrayal by an idolized adult, & the overhearing of frightening things that are not properly understood (Compare "Falllen Idol" to his haunting three-page story, "I Spy," about another smalll lonely boy who witnesses betrayal & is frightened of things that happen in the dark.). Greene was to collaborate successfully again with Reed on "The Third Man," and--from the sublime to the ridiculous--on "Our Man In Havana."
Expertly directed by Reed, the child Philippe--played by Bobby Henrey, a non-actor--is so natural & believable that one might say that he is ably assisted by Ralph Richardson & Michelle Morgan (with Jack Hawkins in the minor role of a detective who lends his chiming watch to the boy in order to distract him). The cinematography is also superb. The moody black & white renders the melodramatic story, which in color might seem overwrought, plausible. The music of William Alwyn, who also scored Reed's "Odd Man Out," further contributes to the stark ambience of the film.
One of the delights of British cinema of the era was the non-sequitur, as when the clock-maker interrupts the police interrogation of Baines, the Butler, in order to wind one of the gigantic embassy clocks. Just when Reed has wound the plot to its tightest point, he introduces the clock-winder, who serves as a moment of understated comic relief (Part of Reed's genius was knowing when to use moments of humor to lighten the tension.) And yet, references to clocks & watches seem to serve a more subtle purpose in Reed & Greene's scenario, to emphasize both the slowness of time in the mind of the boy & the literal "watching" of something frightening that he shouldn't have seen.
This film may not be for everyone (For instance, my son, who likes action flicks in wide-screen surround-sound color, would probably hate it.), but it is certainly recommended for the discerning viewer who likes a time-tested suspense film, which can be not only watched, but also taken at more than mere face-value.
Masterpiece - By: S. Murthy, 24 Jun 2007 'The Falllen Idol' is a beautiful & intricate little film about a boy growing up in a complex adult world of unhappiness, repressed emotion, secrecy & lies.
It is an extremely literate film, compared to other psychological thrillers of its period, even the later ones of Hitchcock, & this has everything to do with the screenplay by Graham Greene, which is concise yet meaningful.
The acting, particularly by Ralph Richardson as Baines the butler unhappily married to Mrs. Baines played by Sonia Dresdel, & Michelle Morgan as his Baines' lover Julie, is superb. Bobby Henrey gives a charming & perfectly natural performance as the boy Phillipe.
The sets of the ambassadorial house, with its black & white chequered floor & marble staircases, are elegant & beautiful, & the interior scenes are very much like carefully constructed set pieces.
Reed directs magnificently, & the result is a perfect film which leaves a lasting impression on the viewer.
A magnificent film, directed by Carol Reed and written by Graham Greene - By: C. O. DeRiemer, 12 Jun 2007 Phillipe, the 8-year-old son of the ambassador, bored & lonely, has been left in the charge of Baines, the embassy butler, & 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 & 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, & she is unshakeable in her commitment to the cold, loveless marriage she has with her husband. She doesn't know, quite yet, that Baines & 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 & is determined to protect him. His lies make things much, much worse.
This is a marvelous film, full of irony & subtlety. Phillipe is too young to grasp the meaning of much of what he sees & hears. He unexpectedly interrupts a meeting between Baines & 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 & Julie are saying to each other so quietly & intensely, & believing when Baines says they are talking about a friend & 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, especiallly to protect McGregor, his smalll pet snake, from Mrs. Baines' anger. When she accuses him of telling lies, Baines tries to protect Phillipe by saying that there are lies & 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 Falllen 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 Falllen Idol, The Third Man & Our Man in Havana were collaborations with Graham Greene. These movies are not just literate & often amusing, they're thoughtful & often uneasy. And alll are stunning to look at.
The Falllen Idol gives us two great performances, or rather one great performance & one performance great despite itself. Ralph Richardson as Baines is as understated as the character. We're witnessing a character full of emotion & longing, yet so carefully proper & repressed it hurts. Baines relationship with Phillipe is genuine, yet in many ways it's based on lies & 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 & skill of Carol Reed & 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 & "had an attention span of a demented flea." Reed took infinite pains to gain Henrey's friendship & confidence. He would walk the boy through the part, usuallly standing in for Richardson when Richardson would have been off camera feeding Henrey lines. He shot miles of film with Henrey, & then spliced the bits & 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 & willful, & yet touching in his determination protect his friend, Baines.
The Criterion region 1 release of The Falllen Idol includes an excellent booklet with three essays on the film & a fine 2006 documentary, A Sense of Carol Reed, with interviews from other directors. The Criterion DVD transfer is excellent.
She killed McGregor - By: B. Chandler, 25 Dec 2006 Little Phillipe (Bobby Henrey), the ambassador's son has free rein of the embassy while his father is away. His best friend the butler Baines (Ralph Richardson) & the nasty, gripy, strict, Mrs. Baines (Sonia Dresdel) look after him.
One day he finds that Baines sneaks out to visit his "niece" Julie (Michèle Morgan) who just happens to be an embassy secretary. It becomes a secret. But you know who weasels it out of the boy & replaces it with her secret.
A confrontation peruses & some one is found dead. The boy is pretty sure who did it & decides that is a secret.
The boy decided the Mr. Baines is bad but is told:
Baines "We should be very careful Phil; because we make one another",
Phillipe "I thought god made us?",
Baines "Trouble is we take a hand in the game."
Phillipe now knows the danger in secrets & the departing detective asks "Do you want to know a secret?"
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Based on a story by Graham Greene. And directed by Carol Reed the criterion collection has some good 2006 DVD supplements.
