Jamaica Inn

Jamaica Inn (1939) 

Notable cast/crew: Charles Laughton as Sir Humphrey Pengallan.  Maureen O'Hara as Mary.  Clare Greet as Sir Humprey's Tenant makes the last of seven appearances in Hitchcock's films.  Basil Radford as Sir Humphrey's Friend makes his final and third straight Hitchcock film.  Robert Newton as Jem Trehearne.

Running time: 90 minutes

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Plot: A gang of pirates on the Cornish coast manipulate the lights on the coast to cause ships to wreck on the rocks which they then pillage.  Mary has come to the area to stay with her Aunt Patience at Jamaica Inn, not knowing the inn is home to the gang of crooks.  She encounters Sir Humphrey after being abandoned on the road.  He takes a fancy to her, but he also tries to dissuade her from going to the dangerous inn.  She insists and finds her Uncle Joss (one of the thieves) and Aunt nervous for her to be there.  They hadn't received her letters and don't want her to spoil their enterprise.  After settling her in, Joss checks on the treasure room to talk to the head of the gang: Sir Humphrey.

Won't you give today?

The crooks catch Jem Trehearne stealing some extra loot and decide to kill him.  They string him up, but Mary is watching from upstairs and cuts the rope after the others have left.  She and Jem make their escape together.  They go to Sir Humphrey for help, and Jem reveals he's an undercover agent trying to break up the smuggling ring.

Sir Humphrey goes along to break up the ring, not letting on that he's the head of the gang (which only Joss knows, the rest of the gang being flunkies to Joss).  Jem and Sir Humphrey are "caught" and left tied up while the gang goes to wreck another ship.

Sir Humphrey then reveals he is in league with the gang and "escapes" leaving Jem guarded by Patience.  Jem cuts a deal with Patience and heads off to bring back help.  Mary slips away from the gang and relights the warning light saving the ship.  She returns to the inn with Joss (who has been shot by his gang) who soon dies.  She encounters Sir Humphrey who murders her aunt and kidnaps her.  They board a ship where they are to make their escape, but Jem stops them.  Sir Humphrey, cornered, jumps to his death, and Mary is freed by Jem.

MacGuffin: None

Hitchcock cameo: None

Hitchcock themes: 

• False Identity

Verdict: A fun film, but not Hitchcock's best.  The plot moves along well, but the suspense is undercut by some problems Hitchcock had with Charles Laughton.  It was one of Hitchcock's most unhappy directing jobs.  He said that he did not so much direct the film as referee it.  Laughton was also co-producer on the film, so he made himself the villain and enlarged his role.  He also hammed it up.  Changing his character involved Hitchcock changing the script to reveal he's the head of the gang far earlier than originally planned.  Most likely the big reveal would have been when Jem and Sir Humphrey are "captured" by the gang near the end of the movie.  Laughton appeared to be wearing a prosthetic nose and forehead for the part.  Maureen O'Hara appears in her first film credited as Maureen O'Hara, and Laughton was so impressed with her he starred with her again in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the same year.

This was the first of three Daphne Du Maurier tales that Hitchcock made into movies. The other two were Rebecca and The Birds.  Du Maurier hated the film and considered withholding the rights to Rebecca (which, in the end, she loved).  This was the last British movie that Hitchcock made.

The film is a nice action film, but it lacks the intrigue that Hitchcock had made a staple in his run of late British films.  He would resume that run in America.  Jamaica Inn was a smash hit at the box office.  However, Hitchcock himself didn't like it, and some critics have panned it.  I don't think it's anywhere near that bad and is quite enjoyable; just don't go into it expecting Psycho.  Disney fans may recognize Robert Newton (Jem Trehearne) who would more famously play a pirate as Long John Silver in Treasure Island.

Out of five bananas, I give it:

Next review: Rebecca