The Fallen Idol

View books by Graham Greene.

Two dark, ironic stories which lead to early noir films. - Rated
The Third Man, written originally as the outline for the screenplay of Carol Reed's famous 1949 film of the same name, is set in occupied Vienna just after World War II. The sectors established by the conquering British, Americans, French, and Russians contribute to an atmosphere of tension and mystery, and an almost palpable aura of menace as residents and visitors alike must deal with four different governments, four sets of officials, and four collections of laws as they move throughout the city.

Rollo Martins, an author of cowboy novels, arrives in Vienna to visit an old school friend, Harry Lime, only to find that he has arrived on the day of Lime's funeral. Investigating Lime's death, Martins learns that a neighbor saw the traffic accident that killed Lime and observed three men carrying Lime's body from the scene. Only two of those men have been identified--the third man has vanished.

As Martins investigates Lime's death, the novel is by turns exciting and darkly humorous, intensely visual in its descriptions and action, but lacking the characterization and thematic focus which one associates with most of Greene's work. The novella is full of wit and dark theatrics, and includes everything from a chase through the sewers to a love story.

The Fallen Idol, sometimes known as "The Basement Room," is, by contrast, a psychological, rather than plot-based story. Nine-year-old Philip, who idolizes the family's butler Baines, since his parents pay little attention to him, is left with Baines and his wife while the parents go on vacation. Baines is having an affair, and Philip innocently discloses this to his wife.

The resulting confrontation results in an accident in which the wife ends up dead, and Philip, panicked, runs out, only to be picked up by a policeman, to whom another naive remark conveys the idea that Baines has murdered her. Irony and a delightfully drawn child's point of view (unusual for Greene) make The Fallen Idol one of Greene's more interesting and twisted stories.

Both The Third Man and The Fallen Idol led to film collaborations between Greene and director Carol Reed--The Fallen Idol in 1948, and Reed's more famous film of The Third Man in 1949. Dark humor, elaborate ironies, and surprising twists characterize both stories and show Greene to be a master manipulator of perceptions. Mary Whipple

Classic espionage - Rated
Mr Graham Greene’s short novel is set in Vienna just before the end of the Second World War. The city is described as “smashed and dreary” and when the action starts, Vienna is still divided up in zones among the Four Powers: the Russian, the British, the American and the French zones. Rollo Martins’ line is the writing of cheap paperback Westerns under the penname of Buck Dexter. Martins received an invitation from Harry Lime of the International Refugee Office to join him in Vienna. When Martins arrives at the Hotel Asoria, there is no Lime expecting him, but only a cryptic message for Mr Dexter from a man called Crabbin. Martins then decides to look for Lime’s apartment, but once he arrives there, a neighbour, a Herr Kurz, informs him that Harry Lime is dead after having been run over by a car. The burial is to take place the same afternoon at Vienna’s Central Cemetery. Martins goes to the ceremony and immediately after that, he is accosted by a man called Calloway, a policeman from Scotland Yard, who asks him if he knew Harry Lime.
This is the beginning of Graham Greene’s classic espionage thriller, very well constructed with wonderfully drawn characters and a suspenseful plot.