Like The Third Man, this film is directed by Carol Reed and written by Graham Greene. Unlike Third Man, it doesn't have Orson Welles... just kiddin', that doesn't matter so much. It's a unique story where the Butler DIDN'T Do It, but everyone thinks he did, helped along by a cute little boy named Phil who cries wolf. Once everything begins to get straightened out and Phil learns not to lie, it's too late and nobody believes him, which is ironic anyway because at that point had he told the truth things would have gotten complicated again.
Carol Reed is up to his cinematic tricks as he shows the majority of the action through little Phil's eyes, sometimes precipitated along an architectural edge and sometimes surprisingly balanced while discord and imbalance occurs among the characters. The cinematography does wonders to the area of the embassy, turning it into everything from a domestic area to a playground to a horrific fun-house to, eventually, a crime scene.
--PolarisDiB
Carol Reed is up to his cinematic tricks as he shows the majority of the action through little Phil's eyes, sometimes precipitated along an architectural edge and sometimes surprisingly balanced while discord and imbalance occurs among the characters. The cinematography does wonders to the area of the embassy, turning it into everything from a domestic area to a playground to a horrific fun-house to, eventually, a crime scene.
--PolarisDiB