The Fallen Idol (1948)
Philippe, a diplomat's son and good friend of Baines the butler, is confused by the complexities and evasions of adult life. He tries to keep secrets but ends up telling them. He lies to protect his friends, even though he knows he should tell the truth. He resolves not to listen to adults' stories any more when Baines is suspected of murdering his wife and no-one will listen to Philippe's vital information. (imdb)
Cast and Information
Directed By: Carol Reed
Written By: Graham Greene, Lesley Storm, William Templeton
Starring: Bernard Lee, Ralph Richardson, Jack Hawkins, Michèle Morgan, Hay Petrie, Walter Fitzgerald, Denis O'Dea, Dandy Nichols, Sonia Dresdel, Bobby Henrey
Genres: Drama, Suspense/Thriller
Country: UK
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The Fallen Idol belongs to 41 collections
1. Criterion Collection (collaborative: moderated by caffe - 166 stars)
2. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2008 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Scottathon - 39 stars)
3. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2010 revision) (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 32 stars)
4. The Guardian's 1000 films to see before you die (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 30 stars)
5. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2014 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Jehan - 27 stars)
6. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2012 revision) (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 25 stars)
7. Academy Award - Oscar - ALL Best Picture, Directing, Acting & Screenplay Nominees (collaborative - 22 stars)
8. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2017 revision) (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 22 stars)
9. They Shoot Pictures' Recommended Viewing (collaborative: moderated by Cinephile - 19 stars)
10. The Best Hitchcock Movies (That Hitchcock Never Made) (collaborative: moderated by teckgecko - 17 stars)
11. Edgar Wright 1000 Favorite Movies (Aug 2016) (collaborative: moderated by Aron Ericson - 17 stars)
12. Coming Of Age (collaborative - 16 stars)
13. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2013 revision) (collaborative: moderated by rant1229 - 16 stars)
14. Metacritic - Universal Acclaim (collaborative: moderated by sengir - 14 stars)
15. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2011 revision) (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 14 stars)
16. Films available in HD (collaborative: moderated by kubricksucks - 13 stars)
17. 1,000 Noir Films: They Shot Dark Pictures, Didn't They? (collaborative: moderated by lisa- - 9 stars)
18. David Thomson's 1000 Films (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 7 stars)
19. Black and White Photography (collaborative: moderated by JooJoo - 6 stars)
20. Ekşi Sinema "Alternatif" Top 250 (collaborative - 6 stars)
21. Best by different standards (public: sesito71 - 6 stars)
22. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2007 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Scottathon - 4 stars)
23. Great Films about Childhood (collaborative: moderated by PerryStroika - 4 stars)
24. Criterion Art House Essentials (public: asperastrum - 4 stars)
25. TimeOut Magazine's 100 best British films (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 3 stars)
26. British Classic Films with good ratings (pre-70s) (collaborative: moderated by 90sCoffee - 3 stars)
27. They Shoot Pictures: Non-American Noir (1940-1964) (public: afx237vi - 3 stars)
28. Based on a Short Story (collaborative: moderated by jmarkthespot - 2 stars)
29. The 100 Best Film Noirs of All Time: Slant Magazine (public: TychoCelchuu - 2 stars)
30. BAFTA Award for Best British Film (Nominees) (collaborative: moderated by ellinikos - 1 star)
31. Sight and Sound 2002 (Single Vote) (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 1 star)
32. British director (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 1 star)
33. Coheed's Celluloid Pit (public: Coheed - 1 star)
34. Best British Films (collaborative: moderated by PerryStroika)
35. Servants & Maids (collaborative: moderated by Dunstan-xxx)
36. Watchlist (public: allegreller)
37. Owned (BD) (public: bizarre_eye)
38. Favorites: Highly recommended (public: KasperL)
39. Filmspotting Ratings Project: Week 6 (public: PeaceAnarchy)
40. HDD 151029 (public: caffe)
41. Hitchcockian (public: juntakinte99)
Browse the full list of collections
| Stars | User | Rating | |
| 3 |  |
eveelun | 67 35th |
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There are some wonderfully shot sequences (especially the hide and seek game) and a few great, creepy & tense moments. While I thought the examination of truth, lies, and consequence was fine, the film relied too much on foolish misunderstandings that could have been easily resolved. Furthermore, the towheaded, bratty, lisping child actor is at times virtually intolerable.
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| 3 |  |
Alex Watkins | 4 70th |
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If nothing else, The Fallen Idol would quell any doubts that Carol Reed has a fantastic eye, and that Orson Welles wasn't some camera puppet master on The Third Man. But it's a very entertaining and suspenseful movie as well. The kid is a bit annoying at times, but no worse than a thousand other child actors, and the movie does a good job of making you empathize with his hero worship.
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| 2 |  |
KasperL | 90 97th |
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Flawless thriller. The scene with the dart is one of many suspense highlights. In a highly original way, the perspective of young Phillippe is kept throughout. There's something uncanny about the way Reed manages to tell Greene's story so that we get to share Phillippe's experiences, his new-found understanding of secrets and lies. It, along with his dawning realization that he isn't part of the adult loop, becomes key in a rather simple plot and thus the film becomes more complex and universal.
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| 2 |  |
Noblet | 46 21st |
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This film definitely has some intriguing ideas and a few great scenes, but I just thought that Philippe was a terrible, irritating character. Since most of the movie is seen from his point of view, it was all pretty much ruined for me. The ending is awful, too.
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| 1 |  |
MartinTeller | 72 41st |
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Well-written by Graham Greene, with building suspense and a few good jokes. Also some great camerawork, and the usual Carol Reed scenes of dark European roads with streetlamps illuminating the wet cobblestones. The problem is that the film centers around a young boy, and the young boy is highly irritating. This is the reason I often don't like movies about children, they're usually too obnoxious or precocious. The child actor wasn't even that bad, I just didn't like the character that much.
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| 1 |  |
mandy | 6 44th |
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Found it hard to empathise with any of the characters they all seemed cold, dislikeable or irritating but it did create a period atmosphere.
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| Average Percentile 65.86% from 433 Ratings |  |