THE FALLEN IDOL II – Ralph Richardson, Michèle Morgan
Ralph Richardson in The Fallen Idol
THE FALLEN IDOL Review: Part I
Things are cleared up before the end, after a number of plot contrivances — not the least of which is the mediocre police investigation. Compounding matters, The Fallen Idol offers subpar acting (Henrey and Morgan phone in their performances), stereotyped characters (e.g., the cops and a Cockney prostitute), and some bad cinematography by Georges Périnal. Again, it’s not that the images are in themselves bad; it’s just that they are inaptly applied to the situations in which the characters find themselves. For instance, angles are skewed in an attempt to add tension to banal scenes, an approach made worse by William Alwyn’s melodramatic musical score, which stands in stark contrast to the restrained zither sounds of The Third Man. The scenes of Phillipe running about London in his pajamas are almost comical because of Alwyn’s poor musical accompaniment.
That said, I must admit that not everything about The Fallen Idol is bad. Richardson is superb as Baines, and Dresdel never goes too Cruella de Vil in her character’s relationship with the annoying Phillipe. Also, Reed does employ the clever strategy of having the film’s first half told almost solely from Phillipe’s point of view, thus letting the viewer not only understand his confusion over adult matters but also to be subtly disoriented by them as well. Once Mrs. Baines dies, however, instead of taking the boy’s disorientation to another level, Reed opts for an omniscient point of view. As a result, I lost what little empathy I had for Phillipe while watching the film sink into a mediocre game of Clue.
The Criterion Collection’s The Fallen Idol DVD offers a good transfer of the 95-minute film, in a 1.37:1 aspect ratio, but it lacks a commentary track. Ever since Criterion switched over to the semi-circle C logo they have started skimping on many of their releases, with the commentaries as the first casualty. Without a commentary, a DVD is little different than a VHS tape; it is truly a shame that they could not hire a critic or film historian to do the task. The bonus features include insert essays, a press book, and a featurette called "A Sense of Carol Reed." It’s rather standard fare.
Not long ago, I watched the terrific 1944 Val Lewton/Robert Wise fantasy drama Curse of the Cat People, about a young girl similarly adrift in an adult world of lies and emotional violence. Despite having been sullied with a ‘B-movie’ label, Curse of the Cat People is far superior to The Fallen Idol in every conceivable aspect, from the cinematography and screenplay to child actress Ann Carter’s sublime acting. In the film, which never resorts to clichés, one is in the mind of the child till the end. As a plus, the absence of showy camera angles actually enhances the storyline — unlike The Fallen Idol, where their use emphasizes the film’s lack of substance.
In recent years, certain critics have been arguing that The Fallen Idol is somehow on a par with The Third Man. Since it is so obviously inferior, that affirmation begs a reasoning of the motives. The one which makes the most sense is that some critics want to argue that Reed was some visionary auteur, and that The Third Man was not such a great sore thumb in an otherwise workaday film resume. In short, the argument is clearly meant to bolster the claim that Reed was the force behind both films.
Yet, The Fallen Idol is unique for it is the key to unraveling the real provenance of The Third Man. Without it, those who deny Orson Welles’ hand in the latter film could obscure their arguments with the passing of time and the excuse of technical and technique developments. The Fallen Idol, however, acts as a smoking gun that reveals its creator’s limits and its successor’s ineffability. And for that, there is no contrived misreading needed.
© Dan Schneider
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of Mr. Schneider, and they may not reflect the views of the Alternative Film Guide.
2 Academy Award Nominations (1949)
Best Direction: Carol Reed
Best Screenplay: Graham Greene
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Tags: Bobby Henrey, Carol Reed, Classic Movies, Criterion Collection, Curse of the Cat People, DVDs, Film Reviews, Georges Périnal, Michèle Morgan, Ralph Richardson, Sonia Dresdel, The Fallen Idol, William Alwyn
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