User reviews

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

Victor McLaglen, the title character of John Ford's THE INFORMER, reminded me of the circus man from Fellini's LA STRADA. Anthony Quinn played the brutish man, who may have even been influenced by the pug-faced, Oscar-winning performance given by McLaglen. Poverty-stricken Dublin is the true-life, atmospheric setting of the picture, which takes place in 1922. Dense fog and a long damp night are the main elements of a story about deep Irish patriotism and the fight of the Irish Republican Army. The conflict of individuality and the cause is what makes THE INFORMER tick. McLaglen's large, simple character just wants to go to America and we're reminded by signs of the price for a ticket frequently. Two different signs become the psychological centerpiece for the drunken Irishman. One is the previous, the other a WANTED sign. Should he do it and get the money to go?

John Ford once famously said, "My name is Ford. I make Westerns." After seeing this film, he obviously could do a heck of a lot more. The serious social issues dealt with here are heartfelt and ones you will find yourself thinking about. And the look of the piece is amazing, consisting of long dark shadows cutting into a miserable Ireland night. Ford was always known for his luminescent, gorgeous cinematography that helped to foresee the conflicts within his characters. This is hard in color, but he did it in pictures like THE SEARCHERS, painting John Wayne in a sometimes vicious manner. Victor McLaglen's performance not only benefits from the lighting, but by the sheer simplicity of his acting. He shoves a lot. He knocks people out. He is a brute who knows no better. He should, however, know whether or not to cross the IRA.

See the film to find out the gritty details. See it also for McLaglen and Ford's patriotic portrayal of the IRA. Max Steiner's score is innovative in how it matches gestures of the characters, placing more emphasis on them. This was usually only seen in silent films, especially Chaplin. The topic of naming names or "informing" is obviously still important. Just look at how the media covered this year's Oscars, giving much attention to the Elia Kazan scandal.

I don't doubt that Victor McLaglen won his Best Actor Oscar for this film by dint of a three way split among the Mutiny on the Bounty leads of Clark Gable, Charles Laughton, and Franchot Tone who were all in the same race. But The Informer is still a fine film because John Ford wouldn't have gotten his first Best Director Oscar if it wasn't. No split involved in his award.

The movie and the story by Liam O'Flaherty that it is based on involves a poor simpleton of a man named Gypo Nolan who was once a member of the Irish Republican Army. He was cashiered out of it for some imbecilic stunt he pulled and wants back in. He's down to his last pence and if he can't get back in, wants enough for passage to America. There's a twenty pound reward for information leading to the arrest of a former comrade named Frankie McPhillip played by Wallace Ford. In a moment of weakness he goes to the Black and Tan constabulary and informs on McPhillip.

The IRA is pretty anxious to find out who ratted McPhillip out and they're pretty certain it was McLaglen. He hasn't the wit to really cover his own tracks. He does make a feeble effort to implicate another man named Peter Mulligan played by Donald Meek. He also picks up a hanger-on played by J.M. Kerrigan.

The whole action of The Informer takes place in 1922 in Dublin from about six in the evening to early the following morning. Of a necessity it is shot in darkness and shadows, making it possibly the first noir thriller. Had it been done post World War II The Informer would have ranked as a great noir classic, like Odd Man Out or the The Third Man which it bares a lot of resemblance to.

John Ford knew this world very well. He took some time off during the Rebellion and was in Ireland at the time and had a brother who was in the IRA. His real name before having it anglicized was Sean O'Fiernan.

Preston Foster plays the IRA commandant Dan Gallagher. In the book Gallagher is a harder and meaner man than Foster has him here. My guess is that John Ford wanted him as a sympathetic character to give movie fans some rooting interest. He makes it clear that Foster has to eliminate the informer because the Black and Tans will grab him and get quite a bit more out of him and put the whole organization in peril.

The IRA trial scene is the highlight of the film. When Foster asks Donald Meek whether he recognizes the authority of their court, Meek ain't in a position to say no. The King's justice and writ does not run here. It graphically illustrates at that point despite occupation by army troops and constabulary, the British are indeed losing their grip on the population.

Of course The Informer a rather grim story has its John Ford touches, but rather fewer than you would expect. Even as McLaglen is spending his money on a drunken spree, the IRA is constantly in the shadows watching him and counting every farthing.

The Informer is a tale well told about Ireland in a grim and dismal time.

A thought-provoking drama of desperate living, paranoia, and the consequences of one's actions, John Ford gives the film an appropriately dark atmosphere, and the sets have a nightmarish quality to them. As McLaglen stumbles half-drunk through the night, everything around him shows his feelings. His character tends to often feel guilty, but at other times he feels in the mood to celebrate. He is overcome by a wave of different emotions, upset from different things. McLaglen handles all of this very well, giving a startling realistic performance that is good enough to provide some compensation for Margot Grahame's over-acting. However, this is just the one character that is complex and fascinating. The supporting characters all are very thin, and the romance between Foster and Angel adds nothing to the tale. Even so, this is very effective film-making, with some clever use of dissolve editing and a haunting music score by Max Steiner. It is overall quite an effective film about moral play, desperation and responsibility.

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.

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.

Haven't read the source material, a very rare case for me not reading a book before seeing its film adaptation, but there were plenty of reasons to see 'The Informer'. It is always interesting to me to see the great John Ford going into non-Western territory and seeing a film from early in his career, and that was the biggest reason. The story sounded great, the significant awards attention intrigued, Max Steiner was a great film composer and the title grabbed the attention. Nice cast too.

'The Informer' could have been quite a lot better. There are so many brilliant things here, the best things also being the things that got award attention, and it had a lot of potential to be a classic. It is one of Ford's better early films and one of the ones to put him on the map. But for me 'The Informer' was not the masterpiece proclaimed by other trusted viewers (though their opinions are still very much respected) and has some frustrating elements that make it an interesting and impressive film but a flawed one.

Am going to start with what didn't work for me. Will agree that the characters are very flimsily sketched, with only the main character being properly meaty, and that the romance is completely unnecessary and felt like padding.

Did feel too that some of the dialogue is very cornball and can ramble self-indulgently and while a vast majority of the cast give good to brilliant performances Preston Foster is the exception, with him being as stiff as a board.

On the other point of view, Ford's direction is at its very best masterful. Especially in his expert handling of the brooding atmosphere and authenticity of the setting. His direction in the character interactions are intelligently done too. Victor McLaglen was never better than he is here in 'The Informer', a meaty role given a lot of tension and nuance, he played this type of role frequently in his career but never equalled it as effectively as here. The rest of the cast are fine too, with a big standout being the ever delightful Una O'Connor. Heather Angel is charming.

Moreover, 'The Informer' is magnificently photographed. How such atmosphere-filled and beautifully framed and lit cinematography wasn't even nominated at the Oscars was a big oversight. The scenery is handsome yet evocative and the editing always succinct and never cheap. Steiner's score is lush and haunting as usual and to me it didn't overbear. Enough of the script is literate and taut and have always admired how there are films that take grim subject matters and tackle them in a pull no punches way. 'The Informer' does that.

To conclude, well done and with a lot that impresses. There was room for improvement though. 7/10

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.

Classic film, understandably it has an honored place in film history... but... having seen it several times.... it dates very badly. Most of the criticism posted here are valid (except the one complaining it was depressing.... um... yes... it's a serious story without a 'happy' ending... that is not a reason to call a film 'bad'). McLaglen's performance is one of the most over the top, hammed up show cases ever put on film. It was all daring and new and interesting in 1935, but not anymore. It's a film I respect, but it's very hard to see through the creaky and old fashioned acting style. John Ford does well, and I reserve opinion on whether he really deserved a Best Direction Oscar for it.... (the lumbering hammy content was, after all, in his hands). Yes, the sets show the low budget, and the characters are very stereotypical.

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.

The Informer is a lyrical and rather artsy reimagining of Liam O'Flaherty's grim novel of betrayal set during the Irish troubles of the 1920's. Co-producer and director John Ford, co- producer Cliff Reid and screenwriter Dudley Nichols pared down the original considerably and brought out what they saw as its essence – the struggle of one Gypo Nolan with his conscience, fought out not only within his own stunted brain but through interactions with various characters who were also simplified and sanitized, the better to direct our attention to the tormented title character. This modern-day Judas tale retains some of the power of the Biblical antecedent. A desperate former member of a revolutionary organization betrays a fugitive comrade to the police for what seems to him a grand sum of money. The comrade is killed; the informer is paid; the money is worthless the moment he acquires it. The realization of what he has done prompts him to drown his consciousness in liquor and get rid of the ill- gotten gain in whatever haphazard way he can.

Representing the slummy underworld of Dublin are stage sets by Van Nest Polglase that suggest drabness, meanness and poverty in a movie studio way. The slum dwellers are presented as alternately rowdy and pious with little in between. Many of the characters in the original novel were so decayed and sordid that mainstream movie studios would not have been able to put them on screen intact. The politics of the organization which the title character betrays are kept nebulous and generic. In the novel it was actually a communist cell within the Irish national movement – but that might have given audiences too much to think about. The character of Dan Gallagher, chief of the local revolutionary group, who investigates whether Gypo is guilty, is played boringly and stiffly by Robert Preston. To be fair, the part is underwritten. Gallagher, a die-hard communist revolutionary who can't quite understand what makes himself tick, is just as complex as Nolan but from page to screen loses his human nature and is reduced to "the handsome romantic love interest" to the sister of the betrayed man. The subsidiary members of the organization are presented in the vein of Hollywood gangster's sidekicks, ciphers with interesting faces instead of full-blown, conflicted individuals whose lives and traits would hold our interest. There is plenty of action, all of it expertly choreographed, to breathe life into what might have otherwise been stagy and static, for there is a great deal of talk in the source material.

The title character in the book was damaged goods, ravaged by hunger, bruised and beaten by cops, unwashed, unschooled. As embodied by Victor McLaglen he comes across more like a well-fed dock worker with bad manners. The scenarists try to make up for this whitewashing of the main character by showing him drinking whiskey as if it's Kool Aid and tossing annoying people around, in the manner of the Frankenstein monster, like rag dolls. Both tendencies are in the novel but here they are exaggerated. It is simply impossible to believe that someone could drink so much hard liquor in one night without becoming violently ill or passing out cold. True, he does fall asleep on his girlfriend's floor toward the end, but more in the way of a nap than the kind of blacked-out unconsciousness that should have occurred under the circumstances. As for Katie, the woman in Gypo's life, Margot Grahame is far too scrubbed and attractive for this setting. Her relationship with Gypo is changed from a crude interdependence based on brute survival needs to a more conventional Hollywood loving couple arrangement, which really makes no sense in the context of the narrative. Although prostitution is presented more frankly here than in most movies of the era, it still had to be gauzed over. As the slain fugitive's mother, Una O'Connor is on hand with her trademark howling – a waste of her talents.

The Informer was considered very strong stuff back in 1935. It's more of a curiosity today.

John Ford's work that earned him his first win at the Oscars for Best Directing. The story is told of an Irishman (Victor McLaglen) desperate for money in poor living conditions, he betrays a friend for 20 pounds, this unleashes a drama that involves an undercover group in the neighborhood where they are looking for this informer.

Personally, it was difficult to see and dense despite having a normal duration, there are interesting directive decisions of styles that I later investigate and it shows that they were innovative or striking for the time but they were not enough for me. Something that caught my attention is the script, I do not take advantage of the situation that the main character got into at all, it did not have an evolution or deepening, from the beginning it always looks the same, it is not surprising and boring.

Victor McLaglen is too big for the statuette for Best Actor compared to his opponents that year, he gives a basic interpretation with some scenes that like the first talk with the head of the group undercover or the final scene in the church but then it seemed too loud to me and baseless violence. The characters of Preston Foster and Heather Angel became more interesting and better executed to me.

It is good in technical resources, especially in directing, but when telling the story, it becomes uncomfortable and dense even putting you in tune with the contemporaneity of that time.

A lot of movies of John Ford (Sean O'Feeney) deal with Ireland.At every stage of a long and brilliant career,he gets back to his roots in his homeland:"the informer" and "the plough and the stars" are early period;"the quiet man " is middle, "young Cassidy" is late.

Far from being "one of the worst movies of the thirties" ,"the informer " belongs to its time:that's true that the studios deny realism but that was true for Fritz Lang's "M" and Marcel Carné's "réalisme poétique" too.Anyway,at a pinch,no matter if it's a political subject in the Ireland of the twenties:what Ford has to say to us is universal:when a man betrays his best friend,be it for thirty coins of silver or for twenty quids,he will be eaten with remorse ,everything that he'll see and hear will remember him of the awful thing he's done.Gypo won't take advantage of his pitiful reward,he will loose everything except the victim's mother's compassion and forgiveness. All through this dark movie,Gypo will roam the foggy streets ,a desperate man:you should not forget that he is an outcast from the beginning:dismissed by the IRA,because he hadn't guts enough to kill a prisoner,and outside a girl,and Jackie (the man he will betray),he's on his own ,a man who suffers from hunger and,worse, lack of self-esteem -the one time when he finds solace is when he has a rest near his girl's fireplace-This character is not that much far from Peter Lorre's part in "M":both movies feature a secret trial.

As always in Ford's cinema,women are figures of peace love and understanding,and for them a man can always redeem his soul: here Katie and the mother.In "quiet man" ,Wayne is given a second chance thanks to Ireland and... Maureen O'Hara.And after all Ford's last movie will be "seven women" (1966) :a doctor(Ann Bancroft) will triumph over barbary against all odds.

Magnificent and unforgettable, stunningly atmospheric, and brilliantly acted by all.

I really cannot understand what sort of people are panning this masterpiece and giving the preponderance of votes as 8 (and nine ones!)

This, along with Grapes of Wrath, is John Ford's greatest movie. I would say that Long Voyage Home is next in line, though quite a way back.

Rating: 10. It deserves a 12.

This amazing Oscar winner (4 in total) and John Ford's first Academy Award winner, is simply spellbinding with a pounding score by Max Steiner. Called an Art film, because Ford had very little money to make this great story about guilt and retribution, and greed and stupidity. But what makes this movie such a classic, is the direction and astounding photography and use of fog and lighting, that was so different from the usual American film, and more in the tradition of German expressionism. And the Oscar winning performance by Victor McLaglen as the drunken Gypo is simply unbelievable. Basically the movie takes place in Ireland, and Gypo turns in a friend in the rebel movement to the English to collect 20 pounds to give to his girlfriend. But having all that money, he starts blowing it on an all night drunk and giving it away, while the leaders of the movement are trying to track down the informer. The whole movie is one night in a dark and foggy Ireland, and a cast of characters that are memorable but all along, the whole world of Gypo is closing in on him, both psychologically. If I had to pick maybe three directors to have ALL their movies on a deserted island forever, and nobody elses, John Ford would certainly be one of them. What a truly remarkable movie...

The story is set in Ireland of 1922. Former IRA man Gypo is in dire straits. The only way out of his extreme poverty and misery is to rat out his close friend, who is also involved with the IRA, is a fugitive and has a reward on his head. Further, Gypo's girlfriend is reduced to poverty-induced prostitution and wishes to take a boat to America to start her life afresh with him, but he doesn't have money for the fare. All these circumstances force Gypo to eventually inform on his friend but he is wracked with guilt in the police station while the Tans kill his friend in a gruesome encounter (The scenes depicting these events are particularly good). Gypo gets his reward & can thus buy tickets for two on a boat to US. However, this is where Gypo differs from a typical sewer rat. While a typical 'informer' would've maintained a low profile and fled as soon as possible, Gypo's guilt over his misdeed is so great that it eventually destroys him. He tries to drown his conscience in alcohol but that doesn't help either. Meanwhile the IRA is on his case because they realize that even a single mole is dangerous to the safety of the entire organization.

This is a character study with the protagonist transforming from a wretched and pitiable character to one who seems to be beyond any redemption. It is like watching a train wreck. You can see how Gypo keeps making the wrong choices- one after the other, but you are unable to stop his madness and folly. He is a perplexing character because he is physically very strong and seems invincible, but isn't good at logic and reasoning. Gypo fails to foresee how his treachery is going to affect him and all others around him. Irish independence and IRA clearly mean a lot to him and he is desperate to gain the approval of his worthy ex-colleagues, but he fails to factor all these things into consideration before informing on his friend. He is obviously quite foolish, drinks a lot and is boorish at times. So, here's a character that exasperates you since he's done an unpardonable act but he 'didn't know what he was doing'! One can't help feel pity, disgust and a bit of compassion for him.

It is a decent film but hasn't dated too well. The climax is a bit over-dramatic for my taste. Also, I wish the protagonist was a bit better as a person. It was mean of him to implicate someone else for his own misdeeds. Only his girlfriend and his friend's mother seem to find him naive and innocent; everyone else sees him with distrust and contempt, justified reactions if you ask me.

To watch this film from start to finish without bursting into laughter at some point requires almost an act of faith, as one has to keep saying to oneself, "it's old", "it's a classic", "be kind", not because the movie is so bad, but because at its best it's so good. This is one dated movie. It's also a classic, if a tarnished one. I'm not inclined to laugh at people anyway, on principle, and I get more than a little irritated when others do so. To make fun of The Informer to my mind is a little like giggling at an idiot savant when he dribbles his orange juice all over the tablecloth. Yes, one says to oneself, he is an idiot, and yet when he's on top of his game he is also a true savant. The same is true for The Informer, which is on occasion very dreadful indeed, and yet it boasts splendid photography, some fine acting, a wonderful score and a good, decent simple story. In the end, which I won't give away, politics, religion and psychology come together, in a church, in such a way as to make the scene seem corny and over the top, and yet so is life sometimes. Uneducated people of simple faith behave differently from us (presumably brilliant) modern folks, and the scene isn't so much unbelievable (I buy it, but I know the Irish) as embarrassing. Yet people do behave that way, they do say things like that. Not everyone is hip, and it may not even be desirable for everyone to be hip. Are people today so much superior to those of seventy or eighty years ago? And in what way? I don't think so. We're just different. Now go watch the movie.

The Informer is directed by John Ford and adapted by Dudley Nichols from the story written by Liam O'Flaherty. It stars Victor McLaglen, Heather Angel, Preston Foster, Margot Grahame, Wallace Ford & Una O'Connor. Max Steiner scores the music and Joseph H. August is the cinematographer.

1922, the Irish War of Independence, and Gypo Nolan (McLaglen) informs on his friend Frankie McPhillip (W Ford), a prominent member if the IRA. Collecting his reward money from the "Black & Tans," Nolan plans to start a new life in America with his girlfriend Katie Madden (Grahame), but as he gets drunk and starts to flash the cash, the Republican Army start to close in on Gypo....

Some of the best reviews of his career were given to John Ford for The Informer, a film that was also a big hit at the Academy Awards, where it won for Best Director, Best Actor, Best Writing (screenplay) and Best Score. Its reputation over the decades has remained mostly positive, tho time has shown it to not be the masterpiece many lauded it as at the time. Ford directs with force, a force matched by McLalgen, and the writing is intelligent (tho it should be noted that Ford & Nichols considerably toned down the source story). The work of August nods toward German expressionism, with shadows, smog and low lights neatly making the sets actually look like 1920s Dublin. While Steiner's score is tonally correct and McLaglen is well supported by Grahame and Foster.

However, Ford's psychological study on a modern day Judas, lacks the power today that the critics felt it had on release. It at times is what it is, McLaglen getting boozed up and getting louder and louder the drunker he gets. It's only when put under pressure by the IRA that McLagen really gets to show some acting gravitas, forced to town down and show Gypo to be the unfortunate and well meaning oaf that he is, McLaglen earns his plaudits; but is it the rich characterisation it was heralded as? Debatable, and no doubt about it, this lacks the complexity and ambiguity that shows up in many of Ford's greatest film's. Absent, too, is any great dramatic thrust, particularly in regards to the finale. Still, all things considered, it's still a fine piece of work, even if it now can't hope to live up to the reputation afforded it back in the 30s. 7/10

During the Irish rebellion of the 1920s, a rebel turns in one of his friends for a reward. Once regarded as a towering achievement for Ford, winning him his first Oscar, it now stands as one of his most dated films, mainly due to the terrible overacting. McLaglen is the main offender here, playing his larger-than-life drunkard so over-the-top that it's painful to watch these days. Of course, the Academy awarded him an Oscar for it and he went on to play variations on this character in numerous other Ford films, mostly Westerns. The rest of the cast is equally bad. The film is visually impressive, but it's hard to look past the melodramatics.