Jamaica Inn

Jamaica Inn

About

Hitchcock's final British film before leaving for the States and a second career is a disappointing and an uncharacteristic romantic melodrama. Set in 19th-century Cornwall, and about an orphan girl who becomes involved with smugglers, it is a travesty of Daphne du Maurier's novel. Hitchcock, who claimed to dislike historical subjects, said he was intrigued by the dual character of the squire, played with relish in a lip-smacking manner by Laughton. There are few bravado cinematic moments and the film has a stilted studio feel to it.

Cast & Connections

Actor: Robert Newton, Emlyn Willaims, Maureen O'Harn, Charles Laughton, Lesile Banks, Wylie Watson
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writer: Joan Harrison, Sidney Gilliat, JB Priestley
Producer: Erich Pommer
Photographer: Harry Stradling, Bernard Knowles

In a nutshell

Hitch returned far more successfully to du Maurier 24 years later with The Birds.

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