Today, I get into The Fallen Idol (1948)
One of three classics that Reed made with author Graham Greene at the time, the other two being The Third Man and Odd Man Out. This is the one of the three I hadn't gotten around to watching and while it doesn't loom as large as the others, it's really good.
"Idol" isn't much of a suspense story but more about telling a story about how a child learns about the adult world of secrets, lies, and murky morality.
The production, dialogue, and cast are all great as I expected with Richardson giving a very nuanced performance. I'm generally of a mind that child actors are overall much better today than the old days but this kid is actually good here. The kid can be annoying, especially in the opening scenes, but he's also playing the part fairly realistically as he's supposed to be a spoiled entitled son of an ambassador.
There are some future bigger names in British cinema who make appearances here like Jack Hawkins and future Bond director Guy Hamilton is in the credits (he was an assistant director in the industry for some time).
The score is very good, if a bit on the busy side, and pretty appropriate for the era.
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