The Fallen Idol
An intelligent film from Carol Reed and Graham Greene, starring Ralph Richardson as the butler in the French embassy in London. The screenplay by Greene is based on his short story "The Basement Room," and the script is excellent, requiring some attention to catch all the details that are later lied about.
The gist of the story is that young Phillipe (Bobby Henrey) is the only, lonely child of the ambassador, and he's taken under the wing of Baines, the embassy's butler. Baines fills the impressionable youngster with tall tales of derring do and shootings in the wilds of Africa. Phillipe adores Baines. Mrs. Baines (Sonia Dresdel), however, is a harridan and our villainess, requiring strict behavior…