A little boy (Bobby Henry) thinks he saw a murder in "The Fallen Idol," a 1948 film directed by Carol Reed from a Graham Greene screenplay. You really can't get much better than that.

Phillipe is the son of the French ambassador to England and his good buddy in the large place where they live is the butler Baines (Ralph Richardson). Baines and his shrew of a wife (Sonia Dresdel) run the place, and the action takes place while both the ambassador and his wife are away. Being an only child, Phillipe has a vivid imagination and is also very attached to Baines, whom he follows one day to a coffee shop. There, Baines is in deep conversation with a woman he introduces as his niece Julie (Michelle Morgan). In actuality, she's his girlfriend, and she and Baines are discussing whether or not he can get a divorce from his wife. When Mrs. Baines leaves to visit her aunt, Julie comes over to the house to spend time with Baines and Phillipe. Just one small problem - Mrs. B knows something is up and is still in the house. When she winds up dead at the bottom of the stairs, Baines falls under suspicion, and Phillipe is afraid Baines killed her.

This is a beautifully crafted film about the mind of a child and about secrets and lies. Baines tells Phillipe secrets and lies, Julie tells Phillipe secrets, Mrs. Baines tells Phillipe secrets, Phillipe can't keep a secret, so lies ensue. When the inspector (Jack Hawkins) shows up, it becomes exhausting all around.

One of the biggest stars of the film is the camera, which takes us down a London street as a little boy runs in the dark and rain; up a long staircase; through a game of hide and seek with covered furniture; the boy's view of the busy household; and most especially the precious final shot.

The magnificent Ralph Richardson portrays the complex Baines perfectly - unhappily married, in love with the beautiful Julie, afraid of his nasty wife, efficient at his job and fond of Phillipe, who is at this point clearly in the way. Michelle Morgan is believable as Julie, a kind young woman - these aren't two nasty, conniving people, just two people in love who don't know whether to go forward or separate. Bobby Henry is an excellent Phillipe. He's not sweet and adorable, but we don't want Mrs. Baines to be mean to him; he blows every secret all to hell and doesn't lie very well; he shows up at inappropriate moments; he makes the wrong assumptions - but we feel for his terror and confusion. If he'd been cute, it would have made Baines and Julie seem more exploitive than they were. It also would have made Mrs. Baines seem even meaner - but she's mean enough.

One of the best films to come out of British cinema, and more proof of the greatness of Carol Reed. A must see.

THE FALLEN IDOL is a very good film about a child and his attachment to a butler. The problem is that the butler is married to one of the most vicious and hateful women in film history--and you actually can easily understand when you find out the man has a mistress. The other problem is that the kid accidentally finds out about this relationship and he can't help but blab to others about the butler and his "niece". And, when the vicious wife finds out, a series of events are set into motion that make it appear that the wife was murdered by her long-suffering husband. Unfortunately, the police become suspicious not because of the dead wife but because every time the kid tries to talk to the police to help his friend, it makes it seem certain that the butler DID kill his wife. After a while, I even found myself fantasizing about slapping the kid (just as the butler's wife had done)--just to get him to stop trying so hard to help!

The film is exceptionally well written and keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout. In many ways, it reminded me of two other exceptional films--the Charles Laughton film, THE SUSPECT as well as Robert Young's THEY WON'T BELIEVE ME. This is very nice company, as these other two films are amazing films. The only negative about the film is the child's acting. Although he tried very hard, this was a very young child (about 6 I'd guess) and his accent kept changing throughout the film. He'd forget to use it and then suddenly begin using an unusual French-English accent. The film makers should have spotted this and re-shot a few scenes. Still, this is a minor quibble as the film is still nearly deserving of a 9 and is splendid entertainment.

The Fallen Idol is a tender, touching story of the attachment of a butler to a young kid in his care. The butler is Ralph Richardson in what is arguably the greatest film role he ever had. The young lad is little Bobby Henrey who nearly lands Richardson in what they call on NYPD a jackpot.

Henrey is the son of the French ambassador to the United Kingdom and Richardson and his wife are employed as butler and maid at the French embassy. The wife is Sonia Dresdel one harridan of a woman so who can blame Richardson for indulging in a little romance with secretary/ stenographer Michele Morgan at the embassy.

One day while tagging after Richardson, young Henrey discovers what's going on though he's too young to comprehend. But later on when Dresdel is killed in a fall at the embassy, Henrey in his little efforts to protect his idol Richardson, just digs him a deeper and deeper hole.

The film is directed by Carol Reed from a Graham Greene novel. The story was changed considerably from what Greene wrote and I personally would like to have seen it as Greene wrote it. Still this version which relies primarily on the chemistry between Richardson and Henrey is still a fine film.

Greene and Reed would team up later on the even more successful The Third Man. If you liked that film, you'll like The Fallen Idol.