Synopsis
Phillipe, the son of an ambassador in London, idolizes Baines, his father's butler, a kind of hero in the eyes of the child, whose perception changes when he accidentally discovers the secret that Baines keeps and witnesses the consequences that adults' lies can cause.
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Cast
- Ralph RichardsonBaines
- Michèle MorganJulie
- Sonia DresdelMrs. Baines
- Bobby HenreyPhillipe
- Denis O'DeaInspector Crowe
- Jack HawkinsDetective Ames
- Walter FitzgeraldDr. Fenton
- Dandy NicholsMrs. Patterson
- Joan YoungMrs. Barrow
- Karl StepanekFirst Secretary
Recommendations
- 100
Washington Post
This is an example of a writer and director working in perfect harness, with Reed smoothly ratcheting up the story's suspense and Greene speculating on his cardinal theme of moral ambiguity. They don't make movies like The Fallen Idol anymore, all the more reason to see it now while you can. - 100
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Cinema does not get much better than this. - 100
L.A. Weekly
One of the great movies about childhood innocence accidentally violated by adults...Reed, an often inconsistent filmmaker, handles the brutal mechanics of the plot superbly, with the marbled interiors of the embassy contrasting sharply with his almost neo-realist outdoor shots of postwar London. - 91
Portland Oregonian
The result is a gripping film which, despite the annoying rugrat, demonstrates how part of leaving childhood behind is learning how and when to lie, and to do it well. - 91
Baltimore Sun
A masterpiece of psychological suspense. - 90
Village Voice
The Fallen Idol has been overshadowed by the noir comedy, giddy style, and Cold War thematics of Reed and Greene's subsequent sensation "The Third Man," but (in similarly dealing with the nature of betrayal) The Fallen Idol is actually a superior psychological drama. - 90
Salon
This is a fine example of British commercial filmmaking at its highest level of craftsmanship. - 88
Boston Globe
Formally, the movie's a lasting pleasure: Reed's incisive direction; Greene's easy yet weighted dialogue; the farseeing deep-focus photography of Georges Perinal; Vincent Korda's luxuriant sets.
