Jamaica Inn (1939)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Sidney Gilliat (screenplay) &
Joan Harrison (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

13 October 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Crime

Plot:

In Cornwall, around 1800, a young woman discovers that she's living near a gang of criminals who arrange shipwrecks for profit.

Plot Keywords:

Inn | Pirate | Orphan | Shipwreck | Ship

Cast

Charles Laughton	...	Sir Humphrey Pengallan
Horace Hodges	...	Chadwick - Sir Humphrey's Butler
Hay Petrie	...	Sam - Sir Humphrey's Groom
Frederick Piper	...	Davies - Sir Humphrey's Agent
Herbert Lomas	...	Sir Humphrey's Tenant
Clare Greet	...	Granny Tremarney - Sir Humphrey's Tenant
William Devlin	...	Sir Humphrey's Tenant
Jeanne De Casalis	...	Sir Humphrey's Friend (as Jeanne de Casalis)
Mabel Terry-Lewis	...	Lady Beston - Sir Humphrey's Friend (as Mabel Terry Lewis)
A. Bromley Davenport	...	Ringwood - Sir Humphrey's Friend (as Bromley Davenport)
George Curzon	...	Captain Murray - Sir Humphrey's Friend
Basil Radford	...	Lord George - Sir Humphrey's Friend
Leslie Banks	...	Joss Merlyn
Marie Ney	...	Aunt Patience Merlyn
Maureen O'Hara	...	Mary Yellen

Runtime:

108 min | USA:98 min | Canada:90 min (Ontario)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System)

Certification:

Finland:K-12 (1995) | Finland:K-15 (2006) | Australia:G (TV rating) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | UK:A (original rating) | France:U | USA:Approved (PCA #02483) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Germany:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Associated British Elstree Studios, Shenley Road, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Mayflower Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

This was the first of three Daphne Du Maurier tales that Alfred Hitchcock made into movies. The other two were Rebecca (1940) and The Birds (1963).

Goofs:

Continuity: A wave comes up, about to crash over the left side of the ship (in the opening scene). In the next shot, the wave is coming from behind.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Captain: Can you make out the beacon light?

Movie Connections:

Version of Jamaica Inn (1983) (TV)

Antiquated drama.

"Jamaica Inn" is a rarity in Hitchcock's filmography: a film that was BEHIND its time (it could have been an early talkie). It is notable only for the hints of sexual perversion one can find in the performances of Charles Laughton and Leslie Banks; in fact, the villains of the piece are much more interesting than the bland heroes. No "Juno and the Paycock", but still one of Hitchcock's weakest. (**)