Victor McLaglen certainly led an interesting life. Born in England in 1886, he served in the Boer War as a teenager. He became a heavyweight boxer, once winning the English Armed Forces Championship. He fought world champions Jack Johnson and Bob Fitzsimmons in exhibitions, and toured the states as a strong man and boxer with the circus. He was a professional wrestler for a while, and later prospected for gold in Canada.

By 1920, he had turned to acting. His likable personality translated well to the screen, and the transition to talkies only helped his career. Eventually, five of his six brothers also became actors, while his son would became a film director. McLaglen's best known films were directed by John Ford. He was usually cast in colorful supporting roles.

They had previously worked together on the war film The Lost Patrol (1934). Its success helped give the Ford the clout to remake The Informer, the original version being an obscure British film starring Victor's brother Cyril. As would be the case with The Quiet Man fifteen years later, Ford wanted to make a film that expressed his Irish roots and sympathies (Ford's birth name was Sean O'Feeney).

RKO was dubious of the depressing storyline and its pathetic lead character. However, the studio agreed to the low budget film, made for under $250,000. Reportedly, Ford gave up his salary for the film to help ensure its production. Initially a box office failure, it made millions when reissued after winning several Academy Awards.

The Informer was based on Liam O'Flaherty's novel. In impoverished Dublin during the 1920s, the Irish Republican Army is once again battling British policemen. Stupid, burly, well-intentioned Gypo Nolan (Victor McLaglen) has been cast out of the IRA for refusing to shoot a traitor. He's the best friend of Frankie McPhillip (Wallace Ford), an IRA member with a bounty on his head. (The twenty pound reward is equivalent to over a thousand dollars today.)

Nolan is upset to find that his girlfriend Katie (Margot Grahame) has turn to prostitution to make ends meet. He collects the bounty on Frankie, ostensibly for Katie's benefit. Wracked with guilt, he goes on a drinking and spending spree instead, urged on by a cynical freeloader (J.M. Kerrigan). Meanwhile, Frankie is cornered by the police, and the IRA suspect that Nolan is the informer.

McLaglen is perfectly cast as the towering and brawny man with the maturity of a child. He attempts to solve his troubles not with reason, but through drink, bluster, and generosity. He fails to see the consequences of his actions, and his own guilt helps lead to his comeuppance. While his actions are contemptible, he remains sympathetic due to his remorse, and his compassion for others.

The lighting and score combine to get across a gloomy atmosphere of despair. Supporting characters come in and out of the shadows. It seems like the nights in Dublin last forever. The uncomfortable feeling of doom that Nolan feels isn't interrupted by comic relief. If this film was made in the 1940s and set in America, it would be almost qualify as 'film noir'.

Some of the supporting characters are stock, however. There's the prostitute with a heart of gold; the kindly, deeply religious mother; a blind man whose lack of vision extends to his bland personality; the tough guy IRA flunkies.

The adapted screenplay was by Dudley Nichols, one of the best and most versatile script writers of the 1930s and 1940s (Stagecoach, Bringing Up Baby, Scarlet Street). He also was a frequent collaborator with John Ford.

Western fans of Ford and John Wayne appreciate McLaglen's supporting work in Ford's "cavalry trio": Rio Grande, Fort Apache, and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. But my favorite films of McLaglen with Ford are the non-Westerns Wee Willie Winkie (1937) and The Quiet Man (1952).

The Informer won Oscars for Best Actor (McLaglen), Best Director (Ford), Best Screenplay (Nichols), and Best Score (Max Stiener). It was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Film Editing. (68/100)




Recommended: Yes