Watch The Informer For Free

You won't be disappointed!

Simply A Masterpiece

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

John Ford was a lifetime supporter of Irish Republicanism. THE INFORMER is one of his major works on the subject, where he analyses the nature of the movement: are its supporters loyal to themselves, their mates, or to the cause?Gypo Nolan (Victor McLaglen) is a loyal supporter of Republicanism, working with IRA man Frankie McPhilip (Wallace Ford): Frankie is the brains, Gypo the brawn. Things take a turn for the worse with the increased involvement of the Black-and-Tans, the British police force, and Gypo decides to shop Frankie out of self-preservation and a desire for money. This is a profoundly stupid decision with inevitable consequences, but one that director Ford implies is inevitable, in light of Gypo's lack of money. We are encouraged to sympathize with him, as he takes the reward money and spends it mostly on a night of pleasure, touring the pubs of Dublin and acquiring fair-weather friends who are only to willing to spend it for him. Accompanied by professional hanger-on Terry (J. M. Kerrigan), Gypo beats up anyone he dislikes, and reveals a sentimental love for romantic songs.The action is relentlessly studio-bound, but Ford creates atmosphere through oblique shots and plenty of smoke. Dublin, as represented in this film, is a narrow city full of small streets and alleys, where your enemy could be lying in wait at any time. Once the IRA have discovered who the informer is, Gypo doesn't have a chance.However Ford doesn't blame Gypo, as he has Frankie's widow Mary (Heather Angel), and girlfriend Katie Madden (Margot Grahame) both claiming that it was not his fault. during a time of severe economic hardship. Gypo is allowed to die in church, looking up at the image of God as he falls, signifying redemption.The filming is straightforward, centering mostly on the characters. McLaglen is memorable as the ursuline Gypo - an imposing figure lacking the expression to ensure his continued safety. He is ideally complemented by Kerrigan as Terry, an F. J. McCormick-like figure full of Irish clichés but with a perpetual eye on the main chance.

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

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.

Maybe it's because I looked up the history of the Irish troubles in the 1920s and then the sad Civil War that engulfed the Free State after the signing of the treaty before watching this movie. Anyway, the sudden turn at the end brought tears to my eyes.Victor McLaglen isn't as famous today as he was back then, and he should be better remembered. In this film, I think he's playing himself as he would have been without his innate talent and brains. For example, the scenes where his buddy in the crowd is challenging men to fight with him is probably quite reminiscent of what McLaglen actually did in earlier years, when he was a world-class bare-knuckles boxer. John Ford is partly responsible for that; the IMDb trivia section shows how he tricked McLaglen into getting a really bad hangover for the trial scene. This director also could bring out a lot in his actors, even without such tricks. Mostly, though, McLaglen is firmly in control, especially when his character is almost totally blotto (which is difficult for an actor to do believably), and he also plays Gypo Nolan with a depth and emotional power that is surprising for someone who has only seen McLaglen later in his career, in "The Quiet Man." I especially like the contrast between this role as an IRA man and the much more obviously controlled performance he gave as the IRA man Denis Hogan in "Hangman's House." In "The Quiet Man," of course, McLaglen is a country squire at odds with the local IRA. Victor McLaglen was big and bully, in the old-fashioned sense of the word, but he was a good actor, too, and capable of wide range and fine nuances of performance that we just wouldn't expect of a such a man today. It's a rather sad comment on our own set of expectations and prejudices.Ford, as usual, packs a lot into a little bit of film. All the characters are excellent (though the Commandant's mostly American accent is distracting) -- NOTE: There be spoilers ahead! -- Knowing that Gypo once drew the short straw and was ordered to kill a man but let him talk his way out of it instead, we really empathize with the man who draws the short straw for executing Gypo, and the humanity he shows, most notably when they go to take Gypo in Mary's room. John Ford really shows his genius here, taking what could have been a gruesome and yet expected outcome to the whole story and instead using it to set up a totally unexpected and yet very satisfying ending that makes us think not just of Gypo and the other characters, but of poor Ireland during that tortured time.