LOVE AND WAR.('The Quiet American')(Movie Review)

Michael Korda on Graham Greene's fears and fantasies

How do you transfigure Graham Greene for the screen? Many have grappled with the task, and, despite the occasional flesh wound, he has been treated fairly, if a little squarely--with far less mutilation, certainly, than someone like Henry James, whom Greene himself wrote about with such feeling, and who continues to be knifed at regular intervals by well-meaning producers. The best results with Greene were obtained by Carol Reed, who made "The Fallen Idol" and "The Third Man," although you could argue that, in the latter, the author's presence was outshadowed by Orson Welles.

The latest effort is ...