The Fallen Idol

Many years ago, Roger Ebert suggested that Carol Reed's The Third Man, might challenge Orson Welles' Citizen Kane as the greatest film ever made-a sentiment that I agree with. So ti comes as no surprise that his film The Fallen Idol (1948), is also something of a masterpiece. It is another well-done adaptation of a Graham Greene story about a young boy Phil (Bobby Henrey) who gets caught up in the investigation of his beloved butler, Baines (Ralph Richardson) in a murder case after his wife falls down a staircase and is killed. I don't remember how well it follows the Greene story, but the film has excellent cinematography and first rate performances from the cast.