Jamaica Inn (1939) | Presenting Hitchcock Podcast

Gooooood evening. In this months episode of Presenting Hitchcock, Cory and Aaron hit the rough and rocky coast as they discuss “Jamaica Inn.”

Picture Title: Jamaica Inn (1939)

Written by: Sidney Gilliat and Joan Harrison

Adapted from the novel by Daphne Du Maurier

Starring: Maureen O’Hara, Robert Newton, Chales Laughton, Leslie Banks, Marie Ney, Emlyn Williams, and Horace Hodges 

Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock

Trailer:

Watch the Movie (it’s on Youtube for free):

Our Favourite Trivia:

Director Cameo: This is the last of director Alfred Hitchcock’s films in which he made no cameo appearance.

This was the first of three Daphne Du Maurier novels that Alfred Hitchcock made into films. The other two were Rebecca (1940) and The Birds (1963).

This was reportedly one of Alfred Hitchcock’s unhappiest directing jobs. He felt caught between the co-producer and star, Charles Laughton, and Laughton’s business partners. Later, he said that he did not so much direct this movie as referee it.

In the original script written by Sidney Gilliat and Joan Harrison, the villain was a hypocritical preacher. However, the villain was changed to a squire because unsympathetic portrayals of the clergy were forbidden by the Production Code in Hollywood. Charles Laughton was originally cast as the uncle, but he cast himself in the role of villain. Since Laughton was the co-producer and the star of this movie, he demanded that Alfred Hitchcock give his character, Squire Pengallon, greater screen time. This forced Hitchcock to reveal that Pengallon was a villain in league with the smugglers earlier in the movie than he had planned. 

Laughton’s acting was a problem for Hitchcock. Laughton played the Squire as having a mincing walk, to the beat of a German waltz which he played in his head, while Hitchcock thought it was out of character.

Maureen O’Hara (Mary) was “Introduced” in the opening credits. She made Little Miss Molly (1938) before this, but that movie wasn’t released until 1940. This officially marked her theatrical movie debut.

On release, the film was a substantial commercial success and in March 1939 Hitchcock moved to Hollywood under contract to producer David O. Selznick. His next film would be Rebecca (1940). Jamaica Inn was his last picture made in Britain until the 1970s.

The real Jamaica Inn still exists as of 2022 and is located just off the A30 in Bolventor, Cornwall, England. https://www.jamaicainn.co.uk

Although the impression given in the film is that the smugglers get to the coast and bring back contraband fairly swiftly, the real Jamaica Inn is actually 17 miles from the nearest coastline, a long trek for horses up cliff paths and over part of Bodmin Moor.

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Next up, we’ll be discussing “Under Capricorn”

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