March 23, 2006

Fallen Idol
Directed by Carol Reed
Opens March 24 at the Varsity Theater

Review by LESTER GRAY
Arts Editor

Graham Greene’s screenplay, adapted from his short story “The Basement,” offers up a suspenseful blend of lost innocence and forbidden love. Such now-passé concerns as integrity and genuine friendship lend a quaint flavor to this re-released 1948 award-winning film.

Baines (Ralph Richardson)and Phillip (Bobby Henrey), of disparate age and unequal station, share an affinity for each other. Phillip, a young boy (about eight years-old), lives in a London embassy where his father is an ambassador and Baines and his wife (Sonia Dresdel) serve respectively as butler and housemaid. In the cavernous enclave, more suited to the decorum of state than to the entertainment of a curious mind, Phillip is hard-pressed to find suitable activity. Baines compassionately addresses this issue, spinning captivating but invented yarns of the butler’s adventurous exploits in the wilds of Africa. These hair-raising tales enrapture the young listener and firmly establish the professional servant as a hero and confidant.

When the ambassador leaves for a few days to collect Phillip’s mother, recovering from illness in the hospital, Phillip is left in the care of the two servants. The relationship between Baine’s missus and the boy stands in marked contrast to that of her husband. A dour woman who epitomizes the austerity often associated with her position, she inflicts a strict and mean-spirited discipline upon the child.

Fighting boredom, Phillip pleads with Baines to take him for a walk in the park. Looking out the upstairs windows he sees the butler departing without him and decides to follow. He eventually catches up with his friend, finding him at tea with an attractive female acquaintance. Baines explains away this assignation by introducing the woman as his niece.

The two males return to the Embassy, and the elder one prevails upon his unintended confidant to keep what he has witnessed secret. Later Baines importunes his wife to release him from their marriage. The housekeeper subsequently interrogates the young boy, who although remaining faithfully taciturn, lets slip a few clues, from which the wife deduces there is someone else in her husband’s life.

Pretending to leave on a visit to her sister, the scorned woman hides in the house, hoping her pretended absence will temp her husband to bring the inconclusive evidence home. This trap yields unanticipated results and the police become involved. Phillip is again forced to examine the responsibilities of friendship and the malleability of truth.

Fallen Idol displays a rarely seen cooperative craftsmanship. The combined efforts of esteemed writer Graham Greene and veteran director Carol Reed make for an unassuming and powerful work. The script, performances, and photography suggest an anachronistic selflessness among the contributors. That said, there is one performance that can’t help but stand out.

The emotional repertoire of Mr. Henrey includes a convincing, slowly evolving disillusionment. He’s young enough to give us an unsullied soul while possessing the sophistication to show the agony of its compromise.

Films out of the vault (there is not a DVD issue of Fallen Idol), so to speak, are often the stuff of cinemaphiles; this work has much broader appeal. This unabridged cut was once censored prior to U.S. distribution. But in this day and age, it is almost a family movie, even with fairly direct references to infidelity and Phil’s short but delicious encounter with a lady of the night. n