The Fallen Idol
Screening on Film
Directed by Carol Reed.
With Ralph Richardson, Bobby Henrey, Sonia Dresdel.
UK, 1948, 35mm, black & white, 95 min.
With Ralph Richardson, Bobby Henrey, Sonia Dresdel.
UK, 1948, 35mm, black & white, 95 min.
Released about a year before The Third Man, The Fallen Idol marks the first collaboration between Graham Greene and Carol Reed. Graham Greene adapted his own short story “The Basement Room” for this thriller, which centers on young Phillipe, the son of the French ambassador to England. Phillipe idolizes the family butler, even as he is accused of murder. The story is told almost entirely from the point-of-view of Phillipe, who spends much of the film watching the adult world without being able to access it.
