Jamaica Inn
He ruled Jamaica Inn...citadel of sin on the moors, curse-ridden, shunned, reviled. Enough sensations for a dozen pictures. Laughton at his most magnificent.
1939 | 108m | English
Popularity: 3 (history)
| Director: | Alfred Hitchcock |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Sidney Gilliat, Joan Harrison, Daphne du Maurier |
| Staring: |
| In coastal Cornwall, England, during the early 19th Century, a young woman who's come there to visit her aunt, discovers that she's married an innkeeper who's a member of a gang of criminals who arrange shipwrecking and murder for profit. | |
| Release Date: | May 11, 1939 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Alfred Hitchcock |
| Writer: | Sidney Gilliat, Joan Harrison, Daphne du Maurier |
| Genres: | Adventure, Crime, Thriller |
| Keywords | sea, based on novel or book, kidnapping, shipwreck, undercover agent, greed, smuggling (contraband), cornwall, england, black and white, aristocrat, multiple murder, 19th century, squire, plunder, cutthroat, loyal wife |
| Production Companies | Mayflower Pictures |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Feb 01, 2025 Entered: Apr 13, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Charles Laughton | Sir Humphrey Pengallan |
| Maureen O'Hara | Mary Yellan |
| Robert Newton | James "Jem" Trehearne |
| Leslie Banks | Joss Merlyn |
| Marie Ney | Patience Merlyn |
| Horace Hodges | Chadwick |
| Emlyn Williams | Harry |
| Wylie Watson | Salvation |
| Mervyn Johns | Thomas |
| Hay Petrie | Sir Humphrey's Groom Sam |
| Edwin Greenwood | Dandy |
| Stephen Haggard | Willie |
| Morland Graham | Sydney |
| Basil Radford | Lord George |
| George Curzon | Captain Murray |
| Jeanne De Casalis | Sir Humphrey's Dinner Guest |
| A. Bromley Davenport | Lord Ringwood |
| Mabel Terry-Lewis | Lady Beston |
| Frederick Piper | Davis |
| Herbert Lomas | Dowland |
| Clare Greet | Granny Tremarney |
| William Devlin | Burdkin |
| Aubrey Mather | Coachman (uncredited) |
| Marie Ault | Coach Passenger (uncredited) |
| O.B. Clarence | Coach Passenger (uncredited) |
| Mary Jerrold | Miss Black (uncredited) |
| John Longden | Captain Johnson (uncredited) |
| Robert Adair | Undetermined Role (uncredited) |
| William Fazan | Undetermined Role (uncredited) |
| Archie Harradine | Undetermined Role (uncredited) |
| Harry Lane | Undetermined Role (uncredited) |
| Sam Lee | Undetermined Role (uncredited) |
| Alan Lewis | Undetermined Role (uncredited) |
| Philip Ray | Undetermined Role (uncredited) |
| A. George Smith | Undetermined Role (uncredited) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Alfred Hitchcock | Director |
| Bob Simmons | Stunts |
| Molly McArthur | Costume Design |
| Harry Stradling Sr. | Director of Photography |
| Hugh Perceval | Production Manager |
| Thomas N. Morahan | Set Decoration |
| Eric Fenby | Original Music Composer |
| J. B. Priestley | Additional Dialogue |
| Gus Drisse | Camera Operator |
| Harry Watt | Special Effects |
| W. Percy Day | Matte Painter |
| Roy Goddard | Assistant Director |
| Jack Rogerson | Sound Recordist |
| Ern Westmore | Makeup Artist |
| Edward Joseph | Assistant Director |
| Robert Hamer | Editor |
| Bernard Knowles | Director of Photography |
| Sidney Gilliat | Screenplay, Dialogue |
| Joan Harrison | Screenplay |
| Daphne du Maurier | Novel |
| J. Lee Thompson | Dialogue Coach |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Erich Pommer | Producer |
| Charles Laughton | Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 20 | 30 | 13 |
| 2024 | 5 | 32 | 46 | 18 |
| 2024 | 6 | 21 | 31 | 11 |
| 2024 | 7 | 19 | 35 | 9 |
| 2024 | 8 | 16 | 29 | 8 |
| 2024 | 9 | 11 | 25 | 6 |
| 2024 | 10 | 11 | 18 | 5 |
| 2024 | 11 | 12 | 20 | 7 |
| 2024 | 12 | 12 | 19 | 7 |
| 2025 | 1 | 13 | 29 | 7 |
| 2025 | 2 | 8 | 15 | 3 |
| 2025 | 3 | 5 | 15 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| 2025 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Trending Position
Charles Laughton excels as local grandee "Sir Humphrey" in this super adaptation of Daphné du Maurier's book. The bleak photography and huge great waves help generate a sense of the menace of the evil Cornish wreckers. They are led by Leslie Banks's malevolent "Joss" who is just as cruel to his wife ... "Patience" (Marie Ney) as he is to any survivors after his men seek to drive ships onto the rocks and make off with the contraband - murdering as they go. His niece "Mary" (Maureen O'Hara) and under-cover customs man "Trehearne" (Robert Newton) discover the evil antics and complicities of both "Joss", his puppet-master and his accomplices and the film now tells the tale of their own death-defying actions trying to bring all to justice. Alfred Hitchcock has much to work with here, the photography is effective and the star is exactly that.
Daphne du Maurier and Alfred Hitchcock, both of Rebecca fame, what could go wrong? Well, everything really. Dodgy cinematography, even for the time. Charles Laughton hamming it like Matt Lucas. Slow paced. Give this one a hard pass. ...