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 1h 40m EN

😐

6.1

MID

★6.1TMDB · 259

CrimeAdventure

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In early 19th-century Cornwall, young Mary Yellan travels to live with her aunt and uncle at the remote Jamaica Inn, where she discovers the inn is a front for a violent gang of wreckers who lure ships to their doom along the coast. As she becomes entangled in their crimes, Mary must fight to survive and uncover the truth behind the terror that haunts the moors.

“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.”

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Cast

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

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writers: Sidney Gilliat, Joan Harrison
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

87 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, shot by Harry Stradling Sr.. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Eric Fenby. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Robert Hamer shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara and Robert Newton carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "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.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0031505 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Alfred Hitchcock directs. Harry Stradling Sr. behind the camera. Eric Fenby scores. Robert Hamer cuts. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
287 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, shot by Harry Stradling Sr.. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Eric Fenby. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Robert Hamer shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara and Robert Newton carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "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.".
8IMDB entry: tt0031505 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 17 themes, including "sea", "based on novel or book", "smuggling (contraband)", "undercover agent".

The technical file

Cinematography: Harry Stradling Sr.
Original score: Eric Fenby
Editing: Robert Hamer
Costume design: Molly McArthur
Makeup / hair: Ern Westmore
Runtime: 100 min · 1h 40m
Status: Released
Budget: $200,436
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Jamaica Inn (1939)

Also by

Alfred Hitchcock

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-22
★ 7/10
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.
tmcd772024-11-03
★ 2/10
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.