Review of The Informer (1935) by Tonypolito — 13 Aug 2010

A single Dublin night during the 1919-1921 Irish War for Independence, directed by John Ford into four Oscars plus a Best Picture nod. Best known for its then-creative cinematography.

An Irish simpleton (McLaglen) dime-drops his IRA buddy to the occupying Black&Tan Brits for the Benjamins. The cash is intended to get he and his gal-of-the-streets out of poverty and into America, but McLaglen quickly boozes and squanders it away. That, plus his inept lying, fingers him as 'the informer.'.

The first hour mostly observes McLaglen slowly/surely sealing his own doom with his own stupidity. The sober and intelligent viewer can see it all coming so clearly it's practically painful to watch McLaglen's non-stop numbskullery.

Plot and performances are slim-pickins' - it's really all about the camerawork. Ford tapped into German expressionism - all but unknown to American theatre-goers of the day - extensively employing shadowy streets filled with dense fog and creative lighting placement to surround the main characters with an aura of dramatic and depressing confinement. Which audiences and critics raved. The success of this film paved the way for such cinematography to be presented soon thereafter as an essential component of film noir.

TRIVIA: For McLaglen's IRA trial scene, Ford lied and told McLaglen he had no lines to memorize for the next day and then sent him off drinking. Next day, Ford filmed an authentically hung-over and confused McLaglen, unable to utter his lines (or much of anything), just as Ford had intended in the first place. And McLaglen took home an Oscar for it.

RECOMMENDATION: The visual style of this film is now so common, it just won't entertain-on-its-own most viewers today. For true film buffs, students & historical completists only.