J. M. Kerrigan gives his hangers-on and opportunists an unembarrassed interest in other people’s money. We like the bluntness of his supporting work, especially for John Ford, though the familiar casting and brief parts set limits.
Fi1m perspective
Money appears, and Kerrigan’s Terry attaches himself to Gypo in The Informer (1935). We were amused by how promptly he takes an interest in somebody else’s good fortune. Kerrigan makes this sponger’s motives easy to read, and there is pleasure in watching a supporting player get on with the business while the script and score keep explaining things elsewhere.
John Ford had already cast him in The Lost Patrol (1934); The Informer marked his move into steady Hollywood character work. In Ford’s The Long Voyage Home (1940), his Crimp returns to the exploitative hanger-on type. Irish or Irish-accented men recur across Kerrigan’s work, often gruff, talkative or morally suspect, and there is a limit to how interesting familiar casting can be. We would not recommend a performance simply because an actor has done this sort of thing before. Terry earns his place through the clear, unflattering purpose Kerrigan gives him.
The casting extended to a sinister thief in The General Died at Dawn (1936) and to Charles Conliffe in The Wolf Man (1941). The latter is a good film to find Kerrigan in, though not the one to choose as a demonstration of what he does. George Waggner directs a compact, sympathetic horror film, with Lon Chaney Jr. giving the monster a recognisable unhappiness. Its fog and sympathy survive some hurried storytelling and occasionally heavy acting; Kerrigan is part of the supporting company rather than the reason to watch.
By 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), where he plays Old Billy, the parts were becoming smaller, with television guest work also featuring in the later career. That shrinking space matters when considering an actor whose opportunities were already mostly brief. A list of substantial films can conceal how little an actor was asked to do in them. Start with The Informer, where there is a definite pleasure in watching him make a nuisance of himself.
Biography
J. M. Kerrigan (also credited as J.M. Kerrigan and Joseph M. Kerrigan) was an Irish character actor. Born Joseph Michael Kerrigan in Dublin on 16 December 1884, he worked as a newspaper reporter before joining the Abbey Players in 1907. He appeared in numerous productions by Lady Gregory, W. B. Yeats and J. M. Synge, and later performed in 35 Broadway shows, including works by Shakespeare, Ibsen and Sheridan.
Kerrigan made his screen debut in the 1916 silent film Food of Love and settled in Hollywood in 1935 after being recruited by John Ford for The Informer, in which he played Terry. He appeared in over 100 films, with notable roles including Johnny Gallagher in Gone with the Wind (1939), Eli Matson in The Sea Hawk (1940), Charles Conliffe in The Wolf Man (1941) and Billy in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954). He also worked in television from the 1950s and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. Kerrigan died in Hollywood on 29 April 1964.
