Le mouchard

A brilliant portrait of a traitor (Victor McLaglen in Oscar winning performance) who is hounded by his own conscience. McLaglen plays an IRA rouge who betrays his leader to collect a reward during Ireland's Sinn Fein Rebellion. The scenes showing fights and mob actions are very realistic, focusing on the desperation within individuals. The lack of hope for a better future seems to be a fate worse than death.

Director John Ford superbly creates an murky and tense atmosphere, enhanced by the foggy and grimy depiction of the Irish landscape. Max Steiner's dramatic music score adds to the cinematic delight. Oscar Winner also for Best Screenplay, nominated for Best Picture. This is one of Hollywood's Classic.

One of John Ford's best films 'The Informer' doesn't feature any grand scenery of the American West. Instead the intense drama Ford was known for plays out on the no less rugged terrain of British character actor Victor McLaglen's face. The former prizefighter, who once faced Joe Louis in the ring, delivers an Academy Award-winning portrayal of disgraced IRA soldier Gypo Nolan on the worst night of his life.

The plot is gracefully simple: In 1922 Dublin, a starving and humiliated man who's been thrown out of the IRA for being unable to kill an informant in cold blood, himself becomes an informant. For £20 he betrays a friend to "the Tans" and for the rest of the night he drinks and gives away his blood money in rapidly alternating spasms of guilt, denial, self-pity, and a desperate desire to escape the consequences of his actions.

It is the remarkable complexity given to the character of the seemingly simple Gypo that is the film's most impressive achievement. In most movies a burly lout of Gypo's type would be cast as the heavy, he'd have at best two or three lines and be disposed of quickly so the hero and the villain could have their showdown. In 'The Informer' Gypo himself is both hero and villain, while the showdown is in his inner turmoil, every bit of which is explicitly shared with the audience.

Because Liam O'Flaherty's novel had previously been filmed in 1929, RKO gave Ford a very modest budget. The director and his associates, particularly cinematographer Joseph H. August, turned this to their advantage in creating a claustrophobic masterpiece about a man at war with himself. In addition to McLaglen's Oscar 'The Informer' also won John Ford his first along with wins for Best Screenplay and Best Score.

An excellent movie of the issue of being an informant and the consequences of the deed. Victor McLagen gives a sympatheic performance as Gypo Nolan, a man who's only way to Move to America is to tell on his best friend. This was one of the first movies that looks into the lives and organization of the IRA(Irish Republic Army). The Informer(1935) is good at showing the poverty stricken Northern Ireland of the 1920's.

Although John Ford has been making films since the early teens, it is this movie that put his name on the map. The Informer(1935) along with The Searchers(1956) are John Ford's most Catholic driven motion pictures as it deals with guilt and redemption. John Ford was good at showing the lifestyles and values of many Irishmen in many of his work. I Only wish that this movie was available on Home Video as it is hard to find.

The Informer(1935) is a movie that made people aware of a director named John Ford. Became a big name in Hollywood for the years after the movie. Gives a detailed look at the early history of the IRA. The Informer(1935) deals with a man who informs on his best friend and feels guilty afterwards. Victor Mclaglen as Gypo Nolan gives a performance of great human depth. The themes of betrayal and redemption are present through the entire film. Of all John Ford's films this is his most religious themed film. The Informer(1935) ends in the style of an An American Gangster Film.

This film deals with the Irish rebellion in the 1920s and more specifically one man's life after he informs on a friend for the bounty on his head and the subsequent consequences. Watching the film, I got the feeling that you could take the script and with just some minor updates, do it again and it, sadly, would still fit contemporary events. But te remake wouldn't be nearly as good. A magnificent performance by Victor McLaglen (for which he deservedly got an Oscar) and a fine ensemble cast that includes most, if not all the actors with brogues in Hollywood at the time, most of them recognizable character actors either established at the time or just starting out. A very good film well worth watching. Highly recommended.