The Fallen Idol ***** (1948, Ralph Richardson, Bobby Henrey, Michèle Morgan, Sonia Dresdel) – Classic Movie Review 1835

Producer-director Carol Reed’s 1948 British classic is one of his most glittering achievements, made between Odd Man Out and The Third Man. Reed eagerly grabs hold of Graham Greene’s script, about a butler working in the French Embassy in London who wrongly comes under suspicion of murder after his wife accidentally falls to her death, and turns it into an exquisite miniaturist movie masterpiece.

Graham Greene writes the incisive, touching screenplay based on his own story The Basement Room about Philippe, a diplomat’s shy little son who accidentally implicates his good friend Baines the butler in the accidental fatal fall of the man’s boisterous, rude and unpleasant wife Mrs Baines (Sonia Dresdel).

Philippe is confused by the world of adults, can’t keep secrets and lies to protect his friends. So no one will listen to Philippe’s vital information when Baines is suspected of murdering his wife. And the impressionable young boy is the only witness to the fall.

Bobby Henrey and Ralph Richardson are joys as they explores the nuances and subtleties of the characters of the boy and the butler, and Dresdel is perfect in her nasty role. Michèle Morgan (as Julie), Jack Hawkins (detective), Denis O’Dea (inspector), Walter Fitzgerald (doctor) and Bernard Lee (detective) are also excellent in star support.

Dandy Nichols, Joan Young, Karel Stepanek, Gerard Heinz, Torin Thatcher, James Hayter and Geoffrey Keen are also in  the notable cast.

Georges Périnal’s black and white cinematography makes the film look classy, and William Alwyn provides the stalwart score.

Studio Canal released a brand new digitally restored version on DVD and Blu-Ray on November 16 2015.

Bobby Henrey was born on June 26 1939 in Villers-sur-Mer, Calvados, France. He is also known for Wonder Boy (1951), his only other film, where he played Sebastian Giro. He is the son of authors Robert Henrey and Madeleine Gal. Carol Reed found Bobby from his picture on the dust jacket of his father’s book A Village in Piccadilly. He attended Oxford University, moved to the US for a career as an accountant and in 2001 was working as a hospital chaplain in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Michèle Morgan (real name Simone Renée Roussel) was born on 29 February 1920 and died on 20 December 2016, aged 96. She was one of the greats of French cinema, a striking natural beauty, and French national treasure.

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 1835

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