Editing The Informer (1935 film) (section)

==Political context and censorship==
The film did not mention the IRA by name and, like [[Carol Reed]]'s ''[[Odd Man Out]]'' (1947), only "casually touched on the underlying conflict." Writing in ''The IRA in Film and Television: A History,'' author [[Mark Connelly]] observes that both films share a common "jaundiced view of Irish nationalism and its adherents." The IRA was portrayed as little more than a criminal gang "whose principal activities were robbery, murder and vigilante reprisals." Gypo Nolan was largely unmotivated by ideology, instead wishing to rejoin the "Organization" to regain "security, status, and a sense of belonging." Instead, the films used the backdrop of [[The Troubles]] for morality tales designed to appeal to the broadest possible audience.{{Sfn|Connelly|2012|pp=147-148}}

Politics and the cause of Irish nationalism was avoided to "circumvent controversy and pass the censors" in both the U.S. and Great Britain. With an eye toward distribution of the film in Britain, [[Joseph Breen]] of the [[Motion Picture Association|Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America]], submitted the script of ''The Informer'' to the [[British Board of Film Classification|British Board of Film Censors]], which requested numerous changes to omit references to the Anglo-Irish conflict.{{Sfn|Connelly|2012|p=148}}

''Odd Man Out'' and ''The Informer'' are also similar in being "dramatic portrayals of lapsed Catholics rediscovering their lost faith," and "end with their dying protagonists assuming Christ-like poses."{{Sfn|Connelly|2012|p=147}}