Blu-Ray Review – The Fallen Idol (1948)

Carol Reed will always be remembered for his masterpiece The Third Man which came out in 1949 starring Orson Welles. However the seeds of that film stem out of his collaboration with novelist and short story writer Graham Greene on The Fallen Idol the year previously. Richard Ayoade is interviewed in the special features and he notes correctly despite how great Reed was a director he is not one of those directors who you seek out all his work and hasn’t entered the cannon of great directors despite making the undisputed masterpiece that is The Third Man.

The Fallen Idol is based on the short story “The Basement Room” which was written back in the 1930s. The story was expanded on by a great deal by Greene and the other screenwriters and according to Ayoade he considered it his favourite adaptation of his work. It’s all told through the eyes of a young boy Phillipe (Robert Henry) who is the son of a French diplomat and for the most part is set in the French embassy in London. The butler Baines (Ralph Richardson) tells him fantastic stories of his “adventures” in Africa but things come to a head when Baines is having an affair and his wife falls to her death in mysterious circumstances in the embassy. Due to lies between the boy, Baines and his wife Phillipe panics and starts telling the police multiple stories which might screw up Baines perceived innocence.

The way Reed tells the story is a masterclass of minimalistic storytelling and a very contained film but without feeling stagey at all which is very rare. The decision to tell it all through the eyes of this young 8-year-old boy who looses his innocence by the end is inspired. The tension Reed builds with the most minimum of a story is impressive and the performances especially Ralph Richardson has a psychological complexity that runs through all of Greene’s writing. The tension is counterbalanced by light relief which was both a trademark of Reed and Greene’s. It may not have the darker noir feel and expressionism of The Third Man but it’s a worthy part of Reed’s cannon and is ripe for rediscovery.

The disc boosts a new hi-def transfer that is clear and pristine as a film from the late ’40s can be, for some reason black and white looks so stunning on Blu-Ray. The highlight of the features is the interview with Richard Ayoade despite the ludicrous claim it’s Reed’s best film when The Third Man clearly is. The disc is loaded with interviews with Guy Hamilton, Robert Henry along with film historian Charles Drazin and also a restoration comparison.

[rating=4]
Ian Schultz

Mystery, Drama, Film Noir |UK, 1948 | PG | Studiocanal | 16th November 2015 (UK) |Dir.Carol Reed | Ralph Richardson, Michèle Morgan, Bobby Henrey, Sonia Dresdel, Jack Hawkins | Buy: [Blu-ray]