The Informer (1935)

Memorable, crazy movie

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Watching this for the first time its surprising the plaudits and Oscar nominations this film received at the time.John Ford directs this maudlin character study with Victor McLaglen paying an ex IRA man, down on his luck looking to find passage to a new life in the USA for himself and his girlfriend. The the only way he can do this is to rat out his friend, an IRA man on the run.The reward money spirals his descend. He arouses suspicion because he now spends money here and there when he had been unemployed for months. He should had got the first boat out and now the rest of his ex comrades are suspicious and are after him.McLaglen's Gypo is a brute of a man, more brawn than brains. Money does not sit well with him and ultimately causes his downfall. Gypo is such as pathetic figure you hardly feel any sympathy for him especially as he betrayed a good friend of his.The production value's is a Hollywood studio lot passing for 1920s Dublin. Its a spirited, overwrought tale with a lot of scenery chewing and of course looks very dated.

Dublin, 1922 . Gypo Nolan (Victor McLagen) , a slow-witted Irish pug has been ousted from the rebel organization . He is hungry and attempts to impress his ladylove . When he finds that his equally destitute girlfriend Katie Madden (Margot Grahame) has been reduced to prostitution , he succumbs to temptation and turns his friend Frankie McPhillip (Wallace Ford) in for money to the British authorities for a 20 pound reward . Nolan then feels doom closing in . He also gets his comeuppance from the IRA (whose leader is Preston Foster) . Later on , Gypo gets home Mrs. McPhillip (Una O'Connor) and Mary McPhillip (Heather Angel) .Intense film about loneliness , suspicion , frightening , treason , information ; and including a descriptive, evocative black-and-white cinematography . This is a dramatic film dealing with thought-provoking themes about betrayal , guilt and retribution . John Ford re-made "The Informer" (1929) by Arthur Robinson ; and , obviously, he was influenced by this version . Good acting by Victor Mclagen as a strong but none too bright man who betrays his former comrade , though overacting and bears excessive gesticulation . The day before shooting McLagen's trial scene , he proceeded to go out drinking - which Ford knew he would do - and the next day was forced to film the scene with a terrible hangover, which was just the effect Ford wanted . John Ford had been highly impressed by F.W. Murnau's ¨Sunrise¨ and wanted to bring an element of German Expressionism to this film . As it displays an expressionist cinematography by Joseph M August , plenty if lights and dark , being well showed in the course of one gloomy , foggy night . Interesting screenplay by Dudley Nichols who wrote the script in six days , being based from the story by Liam O'Flaherty .This was the first of RKO's three-picture deal with director John Ford and despite its deserved reputation and multiple Oscars, it was a low budget production . Another reason why RKO was reluctant to make the film was because a version of the story had already been filmed in the UK in 1929 .Initially a box office failure, the film made millions when it was re-released after its multiple wins at the Academy Awards .Shot in 17 days and its production costs came to a mere $243,000 . The picture belongs the Ford's second period -subsequently his silent time-when John Ford (1895-1973) made a rich variety of stories and his reputation rightly rests on his work in the 30s and 1940s, as ¨Grapes of wrath¨ , ¨How green was my valley¨ , ¨Fugitive¨ , ¨They were expendable¨, ¨My darling Clementine¨ and the Cavalry trilogy

One thing I don't understand about this film, which is intelligent in every other way: Why would hard-nosed rebels, battling to win freedom for Ireland, allow a dimwit like Gypo to operate as a weak link amidst their ranks? Gypo's low intelligence, and inability to foresee consequences, leads him to sell out a fellow rebel with a bounty on his head. The scene in which he shamefacedly reveals Frankie's location, and then sits hunched in a death watch, until the authorities shove blood money his way, is unforgettable. Every frame of this film is stirring, and every character compelling, from Gypo himself (Victor McLaglen) to his girlfriend (Heather Angel), who isn't above turning a trick to make a few quid. Listen as she pleads with Frankie's sister for mercy: "I'm not the kind of girl you are. There was a time I was." And then there's the heart-breakingly world-weary mother of Frankie, who forgives Gypo so he can die in peace: "You didn't know what you were doin'." The themes here range from adhering to principle to mercy and redemption. Several wistful Irish areas provide rare bits of joy against a dismal yet powerful backdrop.This film leaves me curious about the author of this tale, Liam O'Flaherty, who experienced shell shock during World War I and later experienced bouts of mental illness. In all, this movie leaves a lot of think about. Excellent from start to finish!

The Informer may have gathered a little rust over the years with some arch performances and ill fitting slapstick but the pointed theme of guilt and betrayal still resonates with passion and power. Given that a calmer but divided Ireland exists the roots and cause of the still active IRA remains fresh in memory to this day . IRA washout Gypo Nolan is broke and desperate. Quidless and without means of income he falls prey to the lure of turning in his former comrade and still best friend Frankie McPhilips (Wallace Ford) for the reward so he and his girl who has turned to the streets for work can start anew in America. Instead it turns into a drunken, dark night of the soul for Gypo.There is not an ounce of daylight in The Informer as John Ford creates a stifling and suffocating ambiance of fog and shadow in the dimly lit streets of Dublin not only as a metaphor for Gypo's logic but the state of Ireland as a whole. Cinematographer Joseph August does a powerful job of bringing mood to Ford's claustrophobic compositions in ghostly shadows and silhouette while Fritz Steiner's score accents the melancholy.The rock at the center of The Informer however is the purposely overbearing performance of Victor McLaglen. One note actor that he tended to be McLaglen is pitch perfect as the blustery, bombastic dim witted bully prone to sweeping mood swings of blotto euphoria and violent paranoia. One moment your furious with him, the next in sympathy. All consuming as his character is in the film there also remains enough room for little gems from JJ Kerrigan as a hanger on and one tension breaking scene by Donald Meek as an accused informer who in spite of his grave situation succumbs hilariously to his Irish gift of gab.Ford displays a touch of heavy handedness with a wanted poster leitmotif and he does allow his actors to get a little strident at times but overall The Informer captures the grinding sense of desperation of a people caught in the fog of oppression as well as present the sodden Gypo's lurching road to redemption with a conviction that still retains much of its power seventy years later.