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05/24/03
The Fallen Idol (1948)
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Reviews Counted:26
Fresh:26
Rotten:0
Average Rating:8.6/10
Theatrical Release:28-07-2006
Synopsis: In Carol Reed, Graham Greene found his ideal collaborator, one willing to tackle a subject as complex as that of a child's glimpse into the ambiguous moral twilight of the adult world. Although THE... [More]
Starring: Ralph Richardson, Michele Morgan, Bobby Henrey, Jack Hawkins
Director: Carol Reed
Reviews for The Fallen Idol
Top CriticClick to read the article
01/26/06
Top CriticThe Fallen Idol has a good dose of Hitchcockian spice, with its patient set-up, tense details and slanted angles
04/27/06
... one of the great films of innocence lost and a powerful portrait of the powerlessness of children in the adult world, where they are so often ignored or discounted.
01/01/09
A Hitchcockian thriller with human conundrums to go with the suspense.
05/20/06
Masterful 1948 suspense thriller.
10/19/06
Graham Greene liked to say that he preferred The Fallen Idol (1948) to the more famous The Third Man (1949) because it was more a writer's film than a director's.
02/09/06
Top CriticA marvel of postwar British skill with a frisson of Gallic flavor.
06/02/06
An indelible portrait of childhood's confusions, disillusionments and inevitable lost innocence.
06/15/06
Watching The Fallen Idol is like setting off one of those milelong mazes of dominoes, with ramps and loop-de-loops and sheer drops. First, every element is ingeniously set up; then, everything falls into place.
10/19/06
The Fallen Idol is actually a superior psychological drama [to Reed's The Third Man..
02/07/06
This is an example of a writer and director working in perfect harness, with Reed smoothly ratcheting up the story's suspense and Greene speculating on his cardinal theme of moral ambiguity.
03/16/06
Remains one of those classics that makes you thankful you haven't seen them all.
06/09/06
...while many elements of The Third Man do feel more Welles-ish than Reed-y, some of those very qualities can be detected in The Fallen Idol as well, particularly in the middle third of the film.
04/06/06
A superbly subtle thriller that represents director Carol Reed and British Tradition of Quality (in black and white) at their very best. It's hard to think of another tale that captures a child's awakening disillusionment in a more perceptive way.
05/11/06
Reed and Greene build unbearable tension, with the nifty trick of showing events both as they happen and as little Philippe interprets (and occasionally misinterprets) them.
06/23/06
A gripping film which, despite the annoying rugrat, demonstrates how part of leaving childhood behind is learning how and when to lie, and to do it well.
05/05/06
separates itself from what would otherwise be a rather rote drama/thriller.
11/14/06
The film works beautifully and reminds us of the glories of the black-and-white cinema at its peak, shortly before the beginning of its gradual demise.
02/02/06
It's a gripping mystery story involving adult secrets, childhood lies and betrayal as part of the human equation.
12/09/06
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