| The Informer | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release 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 |
| Release date(s) | 1935 |
| Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
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. The novel had previously been adapted for a British film The Informer (1929).
Contents |
A brutish but well-meaning Irishman, Gypo Nolan (Victor McLaglen), 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 the United States 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 six Academy Awards, winning four. McLaglen won Best Actor for his portrayal of Gypo Nolan, beating out Charles Laughton, Clark Gable, and Franchot Tone for the better-remembered Mutiny on the Bounty, and Ford won Best Director. Dudley Nichols won Best Writing, Screenplay, but turned it down because of union disagreements. It was the first time an Oscar was declined. The film also won the Oscar for Best Score; Max Steiner's won for the first time. The film was nominated for Outstanding Production,[1] as well as for Best Film Editing.
| Award | Result | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Outstanding Production | Nominated | RKO Radio (John Ford, Producer) Winner was Mutiny on the Bounty (MGM) (Irving Thalberg and Albert Lewin, Producers) |
| Best Director | Won | John Ford |
| Best Actor | Won | Victor McLaglen |
| Best Writing, Screenplay | Won | Dudley Nichols |
| Best Film Editing | Nominated | George Hively Winner was Ralph Dawson – A Midsummer Night's Dream |
| Best Music (Scoring) | Won | Max Steiner |
The film's other awards and nominations:
The Informer was adapted as a radio play on the July 10, 1944 and October 17, 1950 episodes of The Screen Guild Theater, the March 28, 1948 episode of the Ford Theatre. On the Academy Award Theater's May 25, 1946 episode, McLaglen reprised his role.
A presentation copy of the script, originally presented to a Seymour Roman and signed by many of the prominent cast and crew, was ostensibly found in Madison, Wisconsin among items being cleaned out of an apartment by a landlord. It was brought to the Antiques Roadshow and was appraised for $4,000-$5,000.