The Fallen Idol

If nothing else, The Fallen Idol would quell any doubts that Carol Reed has a fantastic eye, and that Orson Welles wasn't some camera puppet master on The Third Man. But it's a very entertaining and suspenseful movie as well. The kid is a bit annoying at times, but no worse than a thousand other child actors, and the movie does a good job of making you empathize with his hero worship.

There are some wonderfully shot sequences (especially the hide and seek game) and a few great, creepy & tense moments. While I thought the examination of truth, lies, and consequence was fine, the film relied too much on foolish misunderstandings that could have been easily resolved. Furthermore, the towheaded, bratty, lisping child actor is at times virtually intolerable.

This film definitely has some intriguing ideas and a few great scenes, but I just thought that Philippe was a terrible, irritating character. Since most of the movie is seen from his point of view, it was all pretty much ruined for me. The ending is awful, too.

Flawless thriller. The scene with the dart is one of many suspense highlights. In a highly original way, the perspective of young Phillippe is kept throughout. There's something uncanny about the way Reed manages to tell Greene's story so that we get to share Phillippe's experiences, his new-found understanding of secrets and lies. It, along with his dawning realization that he isn't part of the adult loop, becomes key in a rather simple plot and thus the film becomes more complex and universal.

Found it hard to empathise with any of the characters they all seemed cold, dislikeable or irritating but it did create a period atmosphere.

Well-written by Graham Greene, with building suspense and a few good jokes. Also some great camerawork, and the usual Carol Reed scenes of dark European roads with streetlamps illuminating the wet cobblestones. The problem is that the film centers around a young boy, and the young boy is highly irritating. This is the reason I often don't like movies about children, they're usually too obnoxious or precocious. The child actor wasn't even that bad, I just didn't like the character that much.

There are definitely layers here and a interesting approach from Carol Reed. Does take a while to establish things, but that's part of the brilliance to see how this kid responds while adults do adult stuff. I couldn't help but feel the investigative portion could have added more of a twist. But still, the viewpoint of a kid makes if so different to other takes with similar themes.

88.00

If ever there was an argument in favor of smacking a kid, I give you Philippe - the most annoying child on film.

Overal a good thriller that has an extra dimension because most of the story is told from the kid's POV. I didn't mind him for most of the movie, but he does get really annoying at the end. The suspense building in some scene's (the hide-and-seek game) is Hitchcock level good.

A surprisingly good child role is in the centre of this tense thriller. Really well written and directed.

A fascinating film about the dangerous nature of truth vs. lies. I felt that the ending was a little weak, but every performance was excellent, and the story's suspense was as good as any Hitchcock.

Baines! Baines! Baines! Baines! Baines! Baines! Baines! Baines! shutupshutupshutupshutup CAROL ANNE CAROL ANNE CAROL ANNE

Am I the only person not overly bothered by the kid? Sure, he's not exactly the most magnetic screen presence but for a film that's entirely from this boy's perspective he manages to be believable enough. I don't think this is a first rate thriller or anything but it's an interesting and effective film about the world a child lives in and especially all the confusion, fear and misunderstanding that's a part of it.

89.000

çocuk, küçük bey (büyükelçinin oglu), yasak ask, karisindan ayrilmak istemek, evi basmak, merdivenden düserek ölmek, sahit, yalan, yalan ifade,

The most annoying kid ever. I'd wanna kill him at final sequence.

Fascinating tale about a butler's manipulative yet caring relationship with his employer's son. Good writing and acting.

#743

favorite line: macgregor, death by mrs. baines... favorite scene: the paper airplane/note.... a wonderful story about a boy and his idol, the lies we tell, the secrets we keep and the consequences that result........

Tight, well-written script with a lot of memorable dialogue. I actually think the kid does a fine job!

I bet it was exiting at the time. Not so exiting today, yet, you can't really argue a classic.

I enjoyed this, but i felt the ending was a little rushed. A very lovable performance from Ralph Richardson though, even though he plays the character we were meant to dislike (and pity so...). Very funny scene at the police station

Almost unbearably tense at times.

While the kid is rather annoying, especially towards the end, the rest of the film is more than good enough to make up for it. Solid acting, strong visuals and sharp writing make this a really enjoyable film that repeatedly find ways to surprise.

Just to respond to some of the people who complain about Bobby Henrey's performance. It's a brilliant piece of casting. Henrey's character, after all, is an innocent who doesn't understand what's happening around him.. This was who Henrey was in real life, a ten year old of limited attention span, with no training, who could not even be said to be acting. He gives an utterly authentic portrait of childhood no trained child actor could ever give.

An enjoyable, well-written film with a few flaws. Showing the exposition through the eyes of Phile worked very well. Ralph Richardson is particularly enjoyable too. The sappy ending made me think considerably less of this film, though. I found the child actor extremely difficult to understand, also; in fact I had to turn subtitles on. It also sucks that the interest in moral complexity does not apply to the female characters, who are respectively totally hateable and perfectly kind.

An interesting thriller, seen mostly from the view of a child.

681

This certainly does capture the confusion and manipulation you feel as a child. When you add that up with photography of this level and an excellent role from Ralph Richardson [the rest of the cast working very well] - I can't be disappointed. Unfortunately, the kid here is so useless - when the turning point comes he's the only flaw to be found as he rears that annoying voice.

This could've been a really great movie, but it ends up being barely passable. A pretty great concept, it's just too bad most of the characters are bland and forgettable. The child actor isn't as annoying as some say, but he's certainly not fit to lead the movie. Mrs. Baines is really the only exceptional characterization. The photography is amazing though.

671

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