Baines is a butler working in a
foreign embassy in London. He is trapped in a marriage with a cruel wife. He has
met a new woman and desperately wants out to pursue this new interest. His wife
is suspicious, however, and actively seeks out a confrontation with Baines. All
the time, the young child (a boy) of the ambassador is witness to all that is
going on. When the wife accidently falls to her death, the boy thinks Baines
has pushed her down the stairs but also loves Baines too much to help out the
police.
The film is directed by one of
the great British directors of the 1940s: Carol Reed, who
also made Odd
Man Out and The
Third Man (his best and most famous film). Reed worked with composer William Alwyn
and very good cinematographer Georges Perinal
on the film.
The film stars Ralph Richardson
and co-stars Bobby
Henrey. The supporting cast features Michele Morgan,
Sonia Dresdel,
Jack Hawkins,
and Bernard
Lee.
The Fallen Idol is a great light
thriller/film-noir. It in many ways feels like an Alfred
Hitchcock film, but not as melodramatic. Having seen Atonement
prior to The Fallen Idol, this film reminds me of the first half of Atonement
and the power that a lie can have or that a secret can have in the hands of
anyone but especially a young impressionable child. Ralph Richardson is
fantastic in the film. This is a must for fans of British cinema from the
1930s-1950s.
Trailer: Here
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