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The Fallen Idol
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Synopsis
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

Cast

Dora Bryan Rose
Sonia Dresdel Mrs. Baines
Walter Fitzgerald Dr. Fenton
Jack Hawkins Detective Ames
James Hayter Perry
Bobby Henrey Felipe
Bernard Lee Detective Hart
Michèle Morgan Julie
Dandy Nichols Mrs. Patterson
Denis O'Dea Inspector Crowe
Hay Petrie Clockwinder
Ralph Richardson Baines
John Ruddock Dr. Wilson
Karel Stepanek First Secretary
Torin Thatcher Policeman "A"
Joan Young Mrs. Barrow

Production Crew

Phil Brandon Associate Producer
Georges Périnal Cinematographer
William Alwyn Composer (Music Score)
Ivy Baker Costume Designer
Carol Reed Director
Oswald Hafenrichter Editor
Guy Hamilton First Assistant Director
Dorrie Hamilton Makeup
Dr. Hubert Clifford Musical Direction/Supervision
Carol Reed Producer
David O. Selznick Producer
James Sawyer Production Designer
John Hawkesworth Production Designer
Vincent Korda Production Designer
Graham Greene Screenwriter
Lesley Storm Screenwriter
William P. Templeton Screenwriter
James Sawyer Set Designer
Vincent Korda Set Designer
Graham Greene Short Story Author
Graham Greene Short Story Author
W. Percy Day Special Effects
Year: 1948
Runtime: 92
Country: UK
MPAA Rating: NR
Category: Feature

Genre
Drama

Produced by
20th Century Fox
London Films

Release
by British Lion Films

Awards
1948 - Best British Film - British Academy Awards
1948 - Best British Film - British Academy of Film and Television
1948 - Best Film - Any Source - British Academy of Film and Television
1949 - Best Film - New York Film Critics Circle
1949 - Best Foreign Film - Golden Globe
1949 - Best Picture - National Board of Review
1949 - Best Foreign Film - Golden Globe
1949 - Best Picture - National Board of Review
1949 - Best Foreign Film - Hollywood Foreign Press Association