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The Informer Overview:

The Informer (1935) was a Drama - Black-and-white Film directed by John Ford and produced by John Ford and Cliff Reid.

The film was based on the novel of the same name written by Liam O'Flaherty published in 1925.

SYNOPSIS

A hard-hitting Academy Award-winning drama directed by Ford. Set during the 1922 Irish Sinn Fein Rebellion, the film follows the downward spiral of a hard-drinking Dubliner (McLaglen) who informs on a fellow IRA fighter for 20 pounds that he hopes will give him passage to America. After his friend dies in custody, he drinks the reward money away and the IRA exacts its revenge. Based on a novel by Liam O'Flaherty.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Academy Awards 1935 --- Ceremony Number 8 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best ActorVictor McLaglenWon
Best DirectorJohn FordWon
Best Film EditingGeorge HivelyNominated
Best Music - ScoringRKO Radio Studio Music Department, Max Steiner, head of department (Score by Max Steiner)Won
Best WritingDudley NicholsWon
Best PictureRKO RadioNominated
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The Informer BlogHub Articles:

The Informer (1935): John Ford and Victor McLaglen

By 4 Star Film Fan on Feb 22, 2022 From 4 Star Films

The opening title card sets the stage in strife-torn Dublin in 1922 with a reference to Judas, the man who betrayed Jesus Christ to be killed. The allusive nature of the story becomes apparent only with time, connecting with John Ford’s own deeply religious inclinations as an Irish Catholic. I... Read full article

THE INFORMER (1929)

By Dan Day, Jr. on May 11, 2019 From The Hitless Wonder Movie Blog

John Ford is my favorite film director of all time, and one of his greatest films is THE INFORMER, the 1935 multi-Oscar winning story of betrayal set in 1920s Ireland. What most people don't realize is that THE INFORMER was a remake--the story had been filmed in England in 1929. That version has jus... Read full article

The John Ford Blogathon: Ford and The Informer (1935)

By Caftan Woman on Jul 9, 2014 From Caftan Woman

"For a director there are commercial rules that it is necessary to obey. In our profession, an artistic failure is nothing; a commercial failure is a sentence. The secret is to make films that please the public and also allow the director to reveal his personality." The "baby" of his family, 19... Read full article

The Informer (1935)

By Beatrice on May 9, 2013 From Flickers in Time

The Informer Directed by John Ford 1935/USA RKO Radio Pictures Repeat viewing Gypo Nolan (Victor McLaghlen) is a big lug who is down on his luck.  He got bounced from his local IRA unit for failing to kill a prisoner.  He is broke and his girl has turned to prostitution.  One fine night he noti... Read full article

The Informer

By Alyson on May 30, 2011 From The Best Picture Project

In John Ford’s The Informer, we are taken to a foggy night in Dublin, 1922.  Gypo Nolan (Victor McLaglen) is a starving now that he’s been cast out of the organized rebels.   When he sees a reward poster for his old pal, Frankie (Wallace Ford), the twenty pound reward is tempting.  So tempti... Read full article

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The Informer Quotes:

Gypo Nolan: 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!
Terry: [realizing Gypo's stuck him with the bill as an angry bouncer glowers at him] Oh dear, oh dear. I have a queer feelin' there's going to be a strange face in heaven in the mornin'.
Frankie McPhillip: Up the rebels!
Katie Madden: Ah, Gypo, what's the use? I'm hungry, and I can't pay my room rent. Have you the price of a flop on you?
Gypo Nolan: No.
Katie Madden: What's the use? Ah. don't look at me like that, Gypo! You're all I got! You're the only one. You know that. But what chance do we have to escape? Money! Some people have all the luck!
[Indicating the ad in the travel agency window]
Katie Madden: Look at that thing handing us the ha-ha! Ten pounds to America! Twenty pounds and the world is ours?
Gypo Nolan: What are you saying that for?
Gypo Nolan: Mrs. McPhillip... 'twas I... informed on Frankie.
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The Informer Facts
A number of references suggest the possibility that Ward Bond appears in a bit part in this film, and it has also been rumored that J. Farrell MacDonald does so as well. However, frame-by-frame analysis of the film indicates that neither appears in the film in any capacity, and indeed, both were rather more substantially well known at the time than a passing bit role would suggest as likely, even for their friend John Ford. In one scene, in the fish-and-chips shop, an extra appears who has a slight resemblance to Bond, but it is definitely not he. And J. Farrell MacDonald's name might well have been mistaken for J.M. Kerrigan, who does indeed have a substantial role. Kerrigan, though, is already billed in the credits. Bond and MacDonald are not in The Informer.
Is the first film and only film to win the New York Film Critics Circle award for Best Picture by a unanimous vote on the first ballot.
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. Its production costs came to a mere $243,000.
RKO was highly dubious about the project, given the depressing subject matter and the pathetic lead character. However, following the success of John Ford's The Lost Patrol, the studio agreed to stump up the budget for the film, provided it didn't cost any more than $250,000. Ford had to forgo his own salary to ensure that the film met that budget restriction. The film came in at $243,000.
"Academy Award Theater" broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on May 25, 1946 with Victor McLaglen reprising his film role.
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