The Fallen Idol Movie Review

Baines and Julie (Ralph Richardson and Michele Morgan) are having an affair, and mean Mrs. Baines (Sonia Dresdel) doesn't like it. Meanwhile, Phillipe (Bobby Henrey, then 9) is bored and lonely (no parents in sight), so he hangs out with his hero Baines and with Julie, and steers clear of Mrs. Baines. Then Phillipe believes that he's witnessed the murder of Mrs. Baines by none other than Baines! This interesting study of adult behavior through a child's eyes is based on Graham Greene's The Basement Room; Greene also collaborated on the screenplay. The camera sticks with Phillipe. We see what he sees and even when he's wrong, we still root for things to go well for him. Henrey made just one other movie, 1951's The Wonder Kid with Oskar Werner and Sebastian Cabot. AKA: The Lost Illusion.

1949 92m/B GB Ralph Richardson, Bobby Henrey, Michele Morgan, Sonia Dresdel, Jack Hawkins, Bernard Lee, Denis O'Dea, Dora Bryan, Walter Fitzgerald, Karel Stepanek, Geoffrey Keen, James Hayter, Dandy Nichols, George Woodbridge, John Ruddock, Joan Young, Gerard Heinz; D: Carol Reed; W: Graham Greene, Lesley Storm, William Templeton; C: Georges Perinal. British Academy Awards ‘48: Best Film; National Board of Review Awards ‘49: Best Actor (Richardson); New York Film Critics Awards ‘49: Best Director (Reed); Nominations: Academy Awards ‘49: Best Director (Reed), Best Screenplay. VHS, LV