The Fallen Idol - Criterion Collection (2006)

Good

The Fallen Idol is the third film of British filmmaker Carol Reed's that I've seen. Prior to that I've watched the dreadful Oscar-winning musical Oliver!, the solid Charlton Heston biopic of Michelangelo, The Agony And The Ecstasy, and now this. Yes, I have also watched The Third Man, the 1949 film attributed to Reed, but have always hedged upon taking the Warren Commission-like stance that it was Reed's film alone, and not an Orson Welles film merely bearded by Reed. Well, after watching The Fallen Idol, the 1948 film that directly preceded The Third Man, I can tell you that I have no doubts that the bulk of The Third Man was a Welles project that used the functional journeyman studio director Reed as a studio front against the American blacklist.
This is not because The Fallen Idol is such a bad film- it's merely mediocre, even if it is based upon a Graham Greene work (as is The Third Man)- The Basement Room, but that there are only a few techniques in the film which augur the grandiosity of their usage in the later film- which was so Wellesian, that to contemplate that Reed soared to greatness out of mediocrity, for the single film he collaborated upon with Welles, then resumed a mediocre career, when the more Occam's Razor answer is that it was Welles who guided the vision of The Third Man, is to simply not recognize verities of the way art is created and the way artists work and mature.
As example, the two later Reed films I mention differ from The Third Man in that they are in color, in different genres, and made many years later, so that one could argue that Reed may have simply `lost his touch.' But, given that The Fallen Idol was made a year earlier, is in black and white, and based upon a work by the same writer, the comparisons between the two films is apt, although the difference in quality is stark. But, why would Reed agree to such a thing? Well, he wanted to break into the American market, where this film did not do as well as other films by Britons as Alfred Hitchcock and David Lean, he shared political sympathies with and an artistic admiration of Welles. Plus, he got locked into a career track that led to greater financial success and recognition even as the requia for his solid artistic talents diminished in need. If you were a man who recognized his limits, and had a chance to help an idol whose techniques you aped, in exchange for personal success, would you refuse? Or would you do so, and deny the obvious to your grave?
Yet, especially in recent years, there seems to have been a critical movement afoot to try and argue that this mediocre film is somehow on par with The Third Man, and since it is so manifestly inferior, it begs a reasoning of the motives. The one which makes the most sense is that some critics want to argue that Reed was some visionary auteur, and that The Third Man was not such a great sore thumb in an otherwise workaday filmic resume. In short, the argument is clearly meant to bolster the claim that Reed was the force behind both films, rather than just the first one, and a beard for the second. Yet, The Third Man clearly is an oddity- due to its great quality, and unlike the bloated solidity of The Agony And The Ecstasy or the execrable dotty musical Oliver!, this earlier film is the key to unraveling The Third Man's real provenance, for without it, those who deny Orson Welles' hand in that film can obscure their arguments with time, technical developments, and technique, while The Fallen Idol acts as a smoking gun that reveals its creator's limits, its alibiers' motives, and its successor film's great ineffability. And, for that, there is no contrived misreading needed!
September 19, 2008

Clock Watching

Carol Reed's "Fallen 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 "Fallen Idol," which takes place at a foreign embassy in London, Greene is actually revisiting the topic of a child's-eye-view of spying, loneliness, betrayal by an idolized adult, and the overhearing of frightening things that are not properly understood (Compare "Fallen Idol" to his haunting three-page story, "I Spy," about another small lonely boy who witnesses betrayal and 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 and believable that one might say that he is ably assisted by Ralph Richardson and 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 and 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 and watches seem to serve a more subtle purpose in Reed and Greene's scenario, to emphasize both the slowness of time in the mind of the boy and 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. September 14, 2008

wrong format

unfortunately the video which you sent, would not play on my Australian DVD and I had to watch it on my computer. I have not had this problem before, when ordering from Amazon.com. I can only imagine it was the wrong format. I still enjoyed watching the film and was just as impressed as I was the first time I saw it. I think the child who played phile was quite superb. July 8, 2008

Mildly Charming British Noir

"The Fallen Idol" is a nice little film but anybody expecting director Carol Reed to reach the heights achieved with his masterwork, "The Third Man", may be mildly disappointed. The film is certainly well mounted evoking a noirish feel to it. Ralph Richardson is first rate as Baines, the embassy butler who spins tall tales to impress his young charge, Philipe(Bobby Henrey). Henrey gives a natural performance as the boy who idol worships Baines. The story is a good one. The theme is essentially that we should be careful in telling impressionable children secrets or lies because it may come back to bite you. The film is based on a short story by Graham Greene. The problem I had is that the story may have been stretched a little thin. Even at an economical 95 minutes I felt that the theme was beaten into the ground. This probably could have made a better radio play or maybe as a one hour teleplay. I know this was made in 1948 and television was in it's infancy but you get my point. I recommend "The Fallen Idol" but beware of tedium. January 27, 2008

A time long ago

I first saw this film as a young man and have always considered it one of my all time favorites. I purchased this film as an old man and found the film to be better then I remembered. If you can put yourself in a frame of mind of a youngster who thinks his best friend killed his wife then you have found the key to unlock this marvelous film. I just gave it to my daughter to see with my 16 year old grandson. It knocked the socks off both of them. It is not only the fine story and directing, but the ability to go back to England shortly after the war and get a tiny glimpse of historical English life. Check out the tea shop carefully. I find after all these years this just adds to the film. December 22, 2007

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