The legendary collaboration between writer Graham Greene and director Carol Reed provided some of the most acclaimed works of the golden age of cinema, including the widely acknowledged classic 'The Third Man.' But it's one of their lesser known works that's grabbing attention today, as 'The Fallen Idol' is about to be remade for modern audiences.

According to Deadline, 'The Fallen Idol,' which originally landed in theaters back in 1948, is being given the 21st century treatment by 'Men in Black' producer and former Dreamworks studio head Walter Parkes. David Farr, a writer on BBC's spy series 'MI-5,' is attached as screenwriter.
The legendary collaboration between writer Graham Greene and director Carol Reed provided some of the most acclaimed works of the golden age of cinema, including the widely acknowledged classic 'The Third Man.' But it's one of their lesser known works that's grabbing attention today, as 'The Fallen Idol' is about to be remade for modern audiences.

According to Deadline, 'The Fallen Idol,' which originally landed in theaters back in 1948, is being given the 21st century treatment by 'Men in Black' producer and former Dreamworks studio head Walter Parkes. David Farr, a writer on BBC's spy series 'MI-5,' is attached as screenwriter.

'The Fallen Idol' tells the story of a young boy who idolizes a servant in the household and who is shocked and scandalized when he discovers his idol is having an extramarital affair. When the servant's wife dies under mysterious circumstances, the boy embarks on a disastrous plan to protect his hero from implication.

So what kind of tweaks can audiences expect? In addition to moving the setting from postwar London to modern India, the boy is being re-imagined as an 11-year-old American in order to emphasize his "sexual awakening" as he discovers his idol's infidelity. The servant, who apparently will remain British, will also be having an affair with a local Indian girl in order to bring some extra taboo-shattering drama into the mix.

"We thought that the echoes of the class issues depicted in the original short story and film could resonate in contemporary India," Parkes said.

Personally, we think they would probably make a lot more money if they instead made the boy into a burgeoning superhero who discovers that the servant is secretly an arch-villain holding all of Mumbai for ransom with a cursed idol that turns out to actually be an ancient artifact from an extraterrestrial race of gladiators. But if they want to try this whole old-fashioned "human drama" thing, well, that's their choice we suppose.

In the meantime, viewers curious about the original can still check it out; a high quality transfer is available on DVD from the Criterion Collection.