:
Ralph Richardson,
Ralph Richardson,
Michèle Morgan,
more...
:
Carol Reed,
Carol Reed
see all cast/crew...
: Criterion
: Drama, Foreign, Suspense/Thriller, UK, Criterion Collection
: 95 min.
: English
see additional details...
|
|
Adapted from the Graham Greene story The Basement Room, director Carol Reed's The Fallen Idol is told almost completely from a child's eye view-but it isn't a children's story. Young Bobby Henrey idolizes household butler Ralph Richardson. Therefore, when it seems as though Richardson might be implicated in a murder, Bobby does his best to throw the police off the track. The boy succeeds only in casting even more suspicion upon Richardson. As the story progresses, Henrey's hero worship is eroded by Richardson's shifty behavior, and even more so when the boy discovers that the butler's boasts of previous heroism are just so much hot air. The ending of the film differs radically from Greene's story. While it would seem that director Reed was merely paying homage to the "happy ending" philosophy (hardly likely, given the doleful climaxes of such films as Odd Man Out and The Third Man), the director had very solid reasons for altering the story: he was more fascinated by the concept of the boy's imagination nearly sending his idol to the gallows, rather than having the butler entrapped by facts. And though the ending is happy for the boy, the butler's fate is much more nebulous. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
|
| A Not to Miss Classic
by Scaramouche
July 27, 2009 - 1:20 PM PDT
|
|
|
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful
|
I have no idea how this gets a rating lower than 8 or 9!
The story, direction, cinematography, and acting are all superb.
This Carol Reed classic is an exciting and engrossing film.
Don't miss it!
|
|
|
GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 7.00)
31 Votes
add to list 
|
|
|
Your cart
© 2006 All Media Guide, LLC. Portions of content provided by All Movie Guide®,
a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.