The Informer (film)
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The Informer | |
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original film poster |
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Directed by | John Ford |
Produced by | John Ford |
Written by | Dudley Nichols |
Starring | Victor McLaglen Heather Angel Preston Foster Margot Grahame Wallace Ford Una O'Connor |
Music by | Max Steiner |
Cinematography | Joseph H. August |
Editing by | George Hively |
Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Running time | 91 min. |
IMDb profile |
The Informer is a 1935 dramatic film, released by RKO. The plot concerns the underside of the Irish War of Independence set in 1922. It stars Victor McLaglen, Heather Angel, Preston Foster, Margot Grahame, Wallace Ford, Una O'Connor and J.M. Kerrigan.
The screenplay was written by Dudley Nichols from the novel The Informer by Liam O'Flaherty. It was directed by John Ford. It is about a brutish, but well-meaning Irishman, Gypo Nolan (Victor McLaglen), who informs on his best friend Frankie McPhillip (Wallace Ford) who is a member of the Irish Republican Army, in order to collect the reward of £20 and sail to America with his girlfriend Katie Madden (Margot Grahame). The film traces his conscience-stricken emotional disintegration that eventually leads him to give himself away.
The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. [1] McLaglen won the Academy Award for Best Leading Actor for his portrayal of Gypo Nolan, beating out Charles Laughton and Clark Gable for the better-remembered Mutiny on the Bounty, and Ford won for Best Director. Dudley Nichols won the Oscar for Best Writing, but turned it down because of Union disagreements. It was the first time an Oscar was declined.
The film's other awards & nominations;
- NBR - Best Picture
- New York Film Critics Circle Awards - Best Film and Best Director
- Venice Film Festival - John Ford nominated for Mussolini Cup
A presentation copy of the script was recently found in a garbage pile in Madison, Wisconsin, and brought on to the show Antiques Roadshow. It was appraised for about $4,000.
[edit] Cast
- Victor McLaglen - Gypo Nolan
- Heather Angel - Mary McPhillip
- Preston Foster - Dan Gallagher
- Margot Grahame - Katie Madden
- Wallace Ford - Frankie McPhillip
- Una O'Connor - Mrs. McPhillip
- J. M. Kerrigan - Terry
- Joe Sawyer - Bartly Mulholland (as Joseph Sauers)
- Neil Fitzgerald - Tommy Connor
- Donald Meek - Peter Mulligan
- D'Arcy Corrigan - The Blind Man
- Leo McCabe - Donahue
- Steve Pendleton - Dennis Daly (as Gaylord Pendleton)
- Francis Ford - "Judge" Flynn
- May Boley - Madame Betty
[edit] References
- ^ Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. Academy. Retrieved on 2008-03-28.