“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.”
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.
Where to Watch
Streaming, rent and purchase options
Cast & Crew
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)
Story & Production Details
Reviews & Thoughts
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.
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