Movie of the Week – The Fallen Idol

This week’s movie: The Fallen Idol (1948)

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

Available on: DVD and Video On-Demand

Movie of the Week – The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

This week’s movie: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943).

The war/romance drama looks at British soldier Clive Wynne-Candy over the course of his life. As a dashing young man, he is full of honor as well as piss and vinegar, but forty years later now a General he might be too old-fashioned for the times (WWII’s total war). The film details Wynne-Candy’s three major relationships with women and his friendship with German officer Theo Kretschmar-Schuldorff.

The film is the Archers’ (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger) first masterpiece (and one of my personal favorite films). The Archers made some of the best British films of the 1940s. Their must-see include: this film, A Canterbury Tale, ‘I Know Where I’m Going!’, A Matter of Life and Death, Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes, and The Small Black Room. On The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, the Archers worked with frequent collaborators composer Allan Gray, cinematographer Georges Perinal (brilliant cinematographer who would go on to do some of the best photography work in film history with the Archers Jack Cardiff was the second unit D.P.), and production designer Alfred Junge.

The Archers also worked with great actors on the film, all of whom frequented their films. It stars Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr, and Anton Walbrook. All three are just fantastic.

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp is a hard film to describe. Watching it is a transformative experience. It is such a well-made and utterly compelling film (both narratively and aesthetically) that most other work feels inadequate or lacking in some respect. Just the Technicolor photography and production design alone is profoundly beautiful (though, I think that the Archers produce something even better with Black Narcissus and The Red Shoes in this respect). The story and performances, however, are almost second to none in film history. This is just a masterpiece in every respect – sadly one that very few have seen (and one that is often forgotten, as is most of the Archers’ work, even though I think they are among the five best directors in cinema). This is a must-see for everyone wishing to have a strong knowledge of the best films (as there is maybe none better – though, honestly, I do go back and forth between this and The Red Shoes as my favorite).

Trailer: Here

Available on: Blu-ray and Video On-Demand