Review of The Fallen Idol (1948) by M C — 21 May 2017

The story is all about a butler who serves at a foreign embassy in London, watching over the ambassador's child while managing his own grumpy wife and the responsibilities of the household all at the same time. Some bad things happen, lies are told, and then lies are stacked on other lies.

The premise of The Fallen Idol is probably one of the most straight and lacking in complexity that I've ever seen in a noir. That's not an inherently bad thing but it did make some of the early scenes, before the plot got in motion, feel boring. Luckily, the story gets considerably better as the film progresses.

Ralph Richardson is completely believable as the servant in this home, and I like how his unflappable demeanor is set up and then slowly starts to crack as the film goes on. What I really didn't enjoy was the child actor. Bobby Henry was hard to understand and downright annoying, which is tough because he's basically the star of the film.

Like any good film, The Fallen Idol had me invested in what would happen. The butler, Baines, is set up as a likable character so you want to see things work out for him. The movie was also an interesting exploration of all the different kinds of lies and how they can hurt or help us. There were some elements that didn't work for me personally, but overall it's a solid film.