Nobody likes a grass. Except on screen, where a snitch has proved a powerful protagonist in some of the most memorable gangster thrillers over the last three decades.
'Black Mass', out this week in cinemas, provides a worthy addition to that roll-call, with Johnny Depp unrecognisable as Jimmy 'Whitey' Bulger', a gangster among the deadliest of Boston's 1970s kingpins, turned one of the FBI's most notorious informants.
What do we know about snitches? That they rarely emerge unscathed. As you can see from our list of the best below, the saying 'snitches' get snitches' is not without foundation... what's your favourite of this lot?
The Biggest Snitches On Screen
Frank Serpico - Serpico(01 of06)
Frank Serpico (Al Pacino) is a patrolman who quickly rose through the ranks of the NYPD. Serpico gradually notices the corruption in the police world, and witnesses several cops take payoffs, various bribes, and even commit violence. Ultimately deciding to expose the injustice he has seen, Serpico is harassed by other police officers and labelled a snitch. Serpico grapples with fighting within NYPD, death threats, and strains in his personal relationships due to his honesty and decision to come forward, and after he is shot in the face during a drug bust, testifies in court about the corruption within the New York Police Department. Frank Serpico receives a New York Police Department Medal of Honour, praising him for his work.One of the greatest performances from crime movie legend Al Pacino, Serpico has become legendary in the world of crime films for its spotlight on a profession that is normally shown as wholly honourable.
Fredo Corleoneo - The Godfather Part II(02 of06)
The Godfather Part II continues Michael Corleone’s (Al Pacino) story while flashing back in time to Vito Corleone’s (Robert de Niro) immigration story. This film is full of double crossing and betrayal, and features one of the biggest snitches in film history. Fredo Corleone (John Cazale) gives money to Hyman Roth, a business partner of Vito Corleone, and snitches to Johnny Ola - mobster and righthand man to Roth - to whom he gives information regarding the Corleone’s family finances. The men plot to kill Michael Corleone, but Fredo claims to know nothing of his brother’s planned assassination. Fredo argues that he became part of Roth and Ola’s deal only to get something for himself, but Michael later finds out and confronts his brother claiming, “you broke my heart.” Fearing for his life, Fredo flees but in vain.
David Kleinfeld - Carlito's Way(03 of06)
Lawyer David Kleinfeld (Sean Penn) gets his client Carlito Brigante (Al Pacino) out of prison on a technicality, much to the dismay of District Attorney Norwalk. Over time, Kleinfeld steals one million dollars from his client “Tony T”, an Italian mob boss, and is forced to help break him out of prison. Kleinfeld begs Carlito for help, and the two of them, along with Tony T’s son Frankie, help Tony escape. Shortly after, Kleinfeld murders both Tony and his son.Nervous he will be caught for the murders and the stolen money, Kleinfeld snitches on Carlito and approaches DA Norwalk, offering to testify to criminal allegations against Carlito, which are false. However, Kleinfeld’s greed and snitching eventually catches up with him, and leads to his ultimate end.
Cypher - The Matrix(04 of06)
'The Matrix' was created by highly intelligent machines that had taken control of the human race, and began harvesting humans’ body heat and electrical activity for energy. A computer programmer (Keanu Reeves) joins forces with a man named Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), a rebel who, along with others, hack into the Matrix to unplug enslaved humans. Throughout the film, the rebels work to unplug enslaved humans while fighting off the “Agents,” intelligent machines in the human form that want to eliminate Morpheus and the others. In a classic twist, Cypher (Joe Pantoliano), a rebel who has become cynical with the brutality of the ‘real world,’ betrays Morpheus and the group when he snitches to the agents in return for a fulfilling life within the Matrix. Cypher’s disillusionment leads to a shocking betrayal, the capture of Morpheus and ultimately his own death.
Frank Costello - The Departed(05 of06)
Loosely based on 'Black Mass's real-life mobster Whitey Bulger, the fictional gangster Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) prepares Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) to become a mole within the Massachusetts State Police and report back to him with information. After Sullivan is accepted into the Special Investigations Unit, he is determined to find the identity of the snitch within that organization. When Sullivan discovers that Costello is an FBI informant through his own sleuthing, he fears his identity as a mole will be revealed and confronts Costello. Meanwhile, Billy (Leonardo DiCaprio) is an undercover police officer who has infiltrated the mob. No one is exactly who they say they are.
Whitey Bulger - Black Mass(06 of06)
'Black Mass' tells the real-life tale of this notorious snitch, who became one of America's most legendary gangsters, ruling south Boston as the head of the city's Winter Hill Gang during the 1970s. What his associates didn't realise was that Whitey's rule was helped by his work as an FBI informant, promising to help take down his gang’s biggest rival, the Italian mafia, as well as some of his other enemies in Boston. Over the course of several years, Bulger secretly passed along information to FBI agent John Connelly, and continued with his criminal ways untouched. When the FBI finally pursued Bulger, he was tipped off by Connelly, and remained on the run for fourteen years before his arrest in 2011.
'Black Mass' is in UK cinemas from Wednesday 25 November.