The Informer (1935)
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The Informer Movie Review
The Informer is a 1935 crime drama film directed by John Ford and starring Victor McLaglen. It’s a very good, but not great picture.
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“And now the British think I’m with the Irish,
and the Irish think I’m with the British.
The long and short of it is I’m walkin’ around
without a dog to lick my trousers!“
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Gypo Nolan is a former Irish Republican Army man who drowns his sorrows in the bottle. He’s desperate to escape his bleak Dublin life and start over in America with his girlfriend. When British authorities advertise a reward for information about his best friend, current IRA member Frankie, Gypo cooperates. Now Gypo can buy two tickets on a boat bound for the States, but he has difficulties escaping the overwhelming guilt he feels for betraying his buddy.
My main gripe with this movie is that it has way too many characters and plot points for such a short runtime of ninety minutes so it doesn’t really leave a huge impression in any of its scenes. It was honestly a weaker watch upon second viewing after many years, though I still find it to be very good. The crime elements did not engage me all too much.
But the dramatic elements did, and the film is at its best when it’s dealing with the turmoil of the main character and his troubles with others. I personally found the end church sequence absolutely magnificent. It was so powerful and moving that it acted as a perfect conclusion to this story. I wish other sequences were as instantly memorable as that one was.
The Informer was a powerhouse picture when it comes to the 8th Academy Awards as it swept most of the major categories really. It received six nominations and I found all of them rather deserved. Victor McLaglen in particular deserved his Oscar the most given that he’s the soul of the entire movie. His performance in a difficult role is very grounded and superb in every moment. Other players are fine, but he steals the show undoubtedly from everyone else.
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John Ford won for direction which is fine from me as his directing here is fantastic, and I wish he directed more pictures like this one. The screenplay win is the most undeserved one as it’s a rather messy, not the greatest script, but the movie is otherwise gorgeously shot with its very dark, noirish atmosphere perfectly complimenting its dark story. And the score is grandly serious and eerie as well.
The Informer isn’t the most engaging movie in its crime elements and it has too many characters and plot points for such a short picture, but it does make an impact in the protagonist’s inner turmoil and that final church sequence which is very powerful. Victor McLaglen entirely deserved his Oscar for his terrific work here while the movie is also very well directed by John Ford, grandly scored and perfectly shot with a very noirish atmosphere to it.
