Hitchcock's last British film before moving to America was this uncredited adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier's novel. In 19th century Cornwall, refined young woman Mary Yellen (Maureen O'Hara) arrives to visit her aunt, only to find that she's married to the loutish Joss Merlyn (Leslie Banks), who runs a gang of cutthroats who cause shipwrecks on the nearby coast in order to loot their cargo. Joss is secretly in league with the vain, mentally-deranged local nobleman Sir Humphrey Pengallan (Charles Laughton), while an investigator (Robert Newton) has gone undercover into the gang in order to bring them all to justice.
Laughton was also the producer on this, and he and Hitchcock butted heads on everything, with Laughton switching roles (he was originally set to play the part Banks ended up with) and then demanding multiple re-writes to enlarge his new role as the mad Sir Humphrey. I'm a fan of Laughton's, but here he's rather awful. O'Hara, who gets an "introducing" credit although she'd had a few minor bit roles before this, looks nice but doesn't have a lot to do but act scared or horrified. Hitchcock reportedly thought she was a terrible actress, but Laughton insisted that she be cast, and he took to America to appear with him in The Hunchback of Notre Dame next. As for Jamaica Inn, it's only highlight for me is the large cast of British character actors of the time.
Side note: In a bonus feature interview of Hitchcock on one of the Criterion discs, the director is quoted as saying, "I tell filmmakers to try and avoid filming four things: dogs, babies, motorboats, and Charlie Laughton."
Laughton was also the producer on this, and he and Hitchcock butted heads on everything, with Laughton switching roles (he was originally set to play the part Banks ended up with) and then demanding multiple re-writes to enlarge his new role as the mad Sir Humphrey. I'm a fan of Laughton's, but here he's rather awful. O'Hara, who gets an "introducing" credit although she'd had a few minor bit roles before this, looks nice but doesn't have a lot to do but act scared or horrified. Hitchcock reportedly thought she was a terrible actress, but Laughton insisted that she be cast, and he took to America to appear with him in The Hunchback of Notre Dame next. As for Jamaica Inn, it's only highlight for me is the large cast of British character actors of the time.
Side note: In a bonus feature interview of Hitchcock on one of the Criterion discs, the director is quoted as saying, "I tell filmmakers to try and avoid filming four things: dogs, babies, motorboats, and Charlie Laughton."