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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
See More Oscar Winners

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

See More The Informer Articles

The Informer Quotes:

Gypo Nolan: Mrs. McPhillip... 'twas I... informed on Frankie.
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'.
Katie Madden: Gypo, where did you get that money? Look at it, and not an hour ago you hadn't a penny to warm your pocket. Did someone die and leave you a pot of gold?
Gypo Nolan: Why are you sayin' that for?
Katie Madden: Well, did you rob a church or what?
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?
See More Quotes from The Informer
The Informer Facts
The day before shooting Gypo Nolan's trial scene, John Ford told Victor McLaglen that he wouldn't be needed the next day so he should take a break, enjoy himself, and not worry about his lines. McLaglen 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.
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.
John Ford kept Victor McLaglen continually off-balance (and thus in character) by getting him drunk, changing his schedules, verbally abusing him on and off the set and filming scenes when he'd told McLaglen that they were only rehearsing. For the crucial rebel court scene, the story goes that Ford reduced the actor to a trembling wreck by promising him the day off only to bring him into the studio early and extremely hung over, insisting that he spit out his lines. McLaglen was so furious with Ford over this that he threatened to quit acting and kill the director.
John Ford had been highly impressed by F.W. Murnau's Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans and wanted to bring an element of German Expressionism to this film.
A presentation copy of the script was recently found on a garbage pile in Madison, Wisconsin. It was brought on to the show "Antiques Roadshow" where it was appraised for about $4000.
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