Stars: Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Hara, Leslie Banks, Robert Newton, Emlyn Williams, Herbert Lomas, Edwin Greenwood, Mervyn Jones

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Summary: Set in old Cornwall this is all about smugglers, cut-throats and the looting of wrecked ships.

Set in 19th-century Cornwall, this tale of a young woman who visits her aunt, only to discover she's residing in a haven for throat-slashing pirates, is one of Hitchcock's lesser-known films. A period melodrama, the film features an excellent Maureen O'Hara in one of her earlier roles. JAMAICA INN is based on Daphne Du Maurier's famous novel of the same name.

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It's generally acknowledged that the Master of Suspense disliked costume dramas and Jamaica Inn--a rip-roaring melodrama drawn from a Daphne du Maurier pot-boiler, set in 1820s Cornwall--is about as costumed as they come. So what was he doing directing it? Killing time, essentially. In 1939 Hitchcock was due to leave Britain for Hollywood, but delays Stateside left him with time on his hands. Never one to sit idle, he agreed to make one picture for Mayflower Productions, a new outfit formed by actor Charles Laughton and émigré German producer Erich Pommer.

An innocent young orphan (the 19-year-old Maureen O'Hara in her first starring role) arrives at her uncle's remote Cornish inn to find it a den of reprobates given to smuggling, wrecking and gross overacting. They're all out-hammed, though, by Laughton at his most corseted and outrageously self-indulgent as the local squire to whom Maureen runs for help. Since his star was also the co-producer, Hitch couldn't do much with the temperamental actor. He contented himself with adding a few characteristic touches--including a spot of bondage (always a Hitchcock favourite), and the chief villain's final spectacular plunge from a high place--and slyly sending up the melodramatic absurdities of the plot. Jamaica Innhardly stands high in the Master's canon, but it trundles along divertingly enough. Hitchcock fanatics will have fun comparing it with his two subsequent--and far more accomplished--Du Maurier adaptations, Rebeccaand The Birds. --Philip Kemp

Aspect Ratio:	4:3
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Year:	1939
Release Date:	July 7, 2003
Runtime:	95 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	37115 05093
Label:	Classic Collection
Keywords:	General, Inn, Jamaica, Drama
Genre:	Drama