The Fallen Idol (1948)

The Fallen Idol (1948)

starring Ralph Richardson, Michèle Morgan, Sonia Dresdel

directed by Carol Reed

96 minutes

Baines (Ralph Richardson), the butler to the French Ambassador, pursues an extra-marital relationship with Julie (Michèle Morgan), another employee of the French Embassy. Baines' wife (Sonia Dresdel), also an employee of the embassy, eventually finds out about it accidentally from Phillipe, the ambassador's young son.

Phillipe doesn't really understand what the big deal is about Baines seeing Julie on the side. He thinks that she is Baines' niece. Baines has sworn the boy to secrecy. Mrs. Baines insists that Phillipe not tell her husband that she knows about his secret meetings with Julie.

Mrs. Baines falls to her death while spying on her husband and Julie. Suspicion falls on Baines. Phillipe finds himself in a bit of a mess as he tries to honor the promises he made to Baines and Mrs. Baines as the police conduct their investigation.

Thoughts

Graham Greene wrote the original story and the screenplay for this film. This is at least the fifth film I have seen based on one of his stories. The others are This Gun for Hire (1942), The Third Man (1949), Across the Bridge (1957), and The Quiet American (2002).

This film was nominated for two Academy Awards. Carol Reed was nominated for Best Director. Graham Greene was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay. 

This film is described in some places as a mystery thriller but I think of it more as a psychological drama. Phillipe is at the center of it. His devotion to Baines, whom he looks up to as a male role model in the absence of his father, leads him to lie in order to protect the butler. He later tries to tell the truth only to discover that the police know he was lying and no longer consider him to be credible. This leads to a certain amount of mental anguish for Phillipe.

Ultimately the ending to this story is tragic. Baines manipulated Phillipe as he tried to escape his wife and end their marriage. Baines is the one at fault here, not Phillipe.

I should probably watch this movie again someday. It wasn't until I was a good way into the movie that I realized that Baines wasn't the saintly figure that Phillipe perceived him to be. I kept thinking that there would be a redemption for Baines, but there wasn't. It also took me a while to catch on to the fact that Phillipe wasn't English.