The Informer (1935) / Air Mail

The Informer (1935): Gypo Nolan stumbles through a foggy Irish night, his brain pickled in whiskey and his soul tormented by shame and fear. Gypo is an informer, a turncoat who betrayed his friend to the British police for 20 pounds. Now he can’t spend the money fast enough – nor can he run from his treachery fast enough – as he brawls, brags, swaggers and lies his way toward his fate. John Ford earned his first Best Director Academy Award, and star Victor McLaglen took home a Best Actor statuette for this searing four-time Oscar winner set in 1922 Dublin. Timely in its exploration of the tortured netherworld of human guilt, The Informer is filmmaking for the ages. (Warner Bros) Air Mail: Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. Seven years before Howard Hawks’ Only Angels Have Wings, director John Ford