‘You know what happens to little boys who tell lies…’
Mrs Baines, ‘The Fallen Idol’

'The Fallen Idol' is a fine 1948 drama directed by Carol Reed, based on a short story by Graham Greene.

The film is set in and around the French Embassy in London over a weekend when the Ambassador is away. We watch events through the eyes of Phillipe, the Ambassador’s eight-year-old son (Bobby Henrey). Phillipe observes from the balcony, through the banisters. He spies from the fire escape, through the hall window. He has only a restricted view of the adult world and he only partially comprehends its complexities.

Phillipe idolises Baines the butler (Ralph Richardson), a reserved, gentle man who keeps him entertained with exotic stories and imaginative games. But the boy is not so keen on Baines’ wife (Sonia Dresdel), the cold, strict and joyless housekeeper.

Baines, trapped in a loveless marriage, has been secretly courting a secretary who works at the Embassy. Phillipe stumbles into the couple meeting in a teashop.

Phillipe: Funny, isn't it? Julie working for the Embassy and all this time she was your niece.
Baines: Yes. It's a scream.

Baines asks Phillipe to keep their encounter to himself. It will be their little secret.

‘Give me your handkerchief. It's things like that give secrets away.’

Events come to a head. There is a quarrel and Mrs Baines falls down the Embassy’s grand marble staircase to her death. The police are called. Impressionable young Phillipe wants to protect his friend, but at the same time feels compelled to tell the truth. He must reassess his fallen idol.

The film concerns itself with secrets and lies. Baines lies to Phillipe about his adventures in Africa. Phillipe lies to Mrs Baines about his pet snake MacGregor. Baines lies to his wife about his affair. Mrs Baines lies to Phillipe to find out what he knows. It’s a picture of a social order sustained and corrupted by falsehood.

Phillipe must learn that some lies are well intentioned and innocent, while others are all-consuming and corrosive.

Baines: There's lies and lies.
Mrs. Baines: What do you mean by that?
Baines: Some lies are just kindness.

At a critical point in the story Baines endeavours to explain to Phillipe the failure of his marriage.

Baines: There are faults on both sides, Phile. We don't have any call to judge. Perhaps she was what she was because I am what I am. We ought to be very careful, Phile. 'Cause we make one another.
Phillipe: I thought God made us.
Baines: Trouble is, we take a hand in the game.

I was quite taken with this idea: ‘we make one another.’

We spend a good deal of time nowadays asserting our individual freedom and personal responsibility. But sometimes we neglect to consider that personal responsibility extends to the impact we have on others. By our words and actions we shape the way people think, feel and behave. We set the tone, determine the norm. We create context.

This applies as much in business as it does in ordinary life. Leaders must recognise that their role is not just to fix corporate vision and strategy; to meet commercial targets and goals. They must also define corporate culture and values: establish the ethical environment in which staff can perform; set the standards by which colleagues are expected to behave. We are making one another.

It’s sometimes believed that to succeed in commerce you have to be hard-hearted and cold-blooded. And yet I read recently about a study conducted by researchers at University of California that challenges this assumption. 670 students were asked to take a personality test. Ten years later the subjects were interviewed again, along with their respective work colleagues. It transpires that those students who had been aggressive, manipulative and selfish progressed no further in their careers than the kind and generous ones. Indeed the selfish students’ failure to form good relationships with their colleagues had constrained their advancement. In an interdependent world nice people don’t finish last.

In the middle of the police investigation into the death of Mrs Baines, a smart little man interrupts proceedings to adjust one of the Embassy’s ornamental clocks. When asked to come back later, the man persists, and explains that the procedure really must be carried out on the first Monday of every month.

‘They behave much better if they’re looked after.’

'You can't hide your lyin’ eyes,
And your smile is a thin disguise.
I thought by now you'd realize,
There ain't no way to hide your lyin' eyes.’
The Eagles, ‘Lyin’ Eyes’ (D Henley / G Frey)

No. 310