Jamaica Inn (film)
| Jamaica Inn | |
|---|---|
 Original film poster |
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| Directed by | Alfred Hitchcock |
| Produced by | Erich Pommer Charles Laughton |
| Written by | Daphne du Maurier Sidney Gilliat Joan Harrison Sidney Gilliat Alma Reville J. B. Priestley |
| Starring | Charles Laughton Maureen O'Hara Emlyn Williams |
| Music by | Eric Fenby |
| Cinematography | Bernard Knowles Harry Stradling |
| Editing by | Robert Hamer |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 15 May 1939 (UK) 13 October 1939 (US) |
| Running time | 98 min. |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Jamaica Inn is a 1939 film made by Alfred Hitchcock adapted from Daphne du Maurier's 1936 novel of the same name, the first of three of du Maurier's works that Hitchcock adapted (the others were her novel Rebecca and short story "The Birds").
The film is a period piece set in Cornwall in 1819; the real Jamaica Inn still exists, and is a pub on the edge of Bodmin Moor. The score was written by Eric Fenby.
Jamaica Inn starred Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara. Critics disparaged the film and today it is considered one of Hitchcock's lesser films.[1] However, the film still garnered a large profit (3.7 million dollars, a huge success, at the time) at the box office.[2]
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[edit] Production
Charles Laughton was a co-producer as well, and he interfered greatly with Hitchcock's direction.
Laughton was originally cast as the uncle, but he cast himself in the role of villain, which was originally to be a hypocritical preacher, but was rewritten as a squire because unsympathetic portrayals of the clergy were forbidden by the Production Code in Hollywood.[3]
Laughton then demanded that 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 film than Hitchcock had initially planned.[2]
Laughton's acting was a problem point as well for Hitchcock. Laughton portrayed the Squire as having a mincing walk, to the beat of a German waltz which he played in his head,[4] while Hitchcock thought it was out of character.
Some good did come out of Laughton's meddling, though. He demanded that Maureen O'Hara be given the lead after watching her screen test (her acting in the screen test was sub par, but Laughton could not forget her eyes). After filming finished, Charles Laughton brought her to Hollywood to play Esmeralda opposite his Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, where she became an international star. In March 1939, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood to begin his contract with David O. Selznick, so Jamaica Inn was his last British picture, as well as one of his most successful.[4]
Daphne du Maurier was not pleased with the finished production and for a while she considered withholding the film rights to Rebecca.[4]
[edit] Plot
| “ | O Lord, we pray Thee, not that wrecks should happen, but that if they do happen, Thou wilt guide them to the coast of Cornwall for the benefit of the poor inhabitants. So ran a prayer in the early nineteenth century, before there were formal lighthouses, in Cornwall, a lawless corner of England . . .[5] | ” |
Jamaica Inn is headquarters to a gang of smugglers, led by the innkeeper Joss (Leslie Banks). The smugglers extinguish coastal beacons in order to cause ships to run aground. Then they loot the wrecks and kill the surviving sailors.
Mary (Maureen O'Hara), the orphaned niece of Joss's wife Patience (Marie Ney) comes to live at the inn, and saves the life of Traherne (Robert Newton), a gang member lynched by his fellow smugglers for embezzling. Traherne is actually a secret law-officer, trying to bring down Joss's gang. They flee the inn and seek the protection of Sir Humphrey Pengallon, the local magistrate, little knowing that he actually protects Joss's gang, as he needs the loot in order to maintain his lavish lifestyle.
Traherne and Mary must race against time to stop a ship from being wrecked, and an unlikely love affair blossoms.
[edit] Cast
- Charles Laughton - Sir Humphrey Pengallan
- Leslie Banks - Joss Merlyn
- Emlyn Williams - Harry the pedlar
- Robert Newton - James 'Jem' Trehearne
- Marie Ney - Patience Merlyn
- Maureen O'Hara - Mary Yellen
- Horace Hodges - Butler (Chadwick)
- Hay Petrie - Groom
- Frederick Piper - Agent
- Herbert Lomas - Tenant
- Clare Greet - Tenant
- William Devlin - Tenant
- Jeanne De Casalis - Sir Humphrey's friend
- Mabel Terry-Lewis - Lady Beston
- A. Bromley Davenport - Ringwood
- George Curzon - Captain Murray
- Basil Radford - Lord George
[edit] Character actors
Besides Laughton and O'Hara, secondary characters are played by several notable stage-and-screen character actors of the time, including "bruiser-type" actor Leslie Banks (who played General Zharov in The Most Dangerous Game) as Joss Merlin, and Robert Newton in an uncharacteristic role as Jem Trahearne, a suave young secret-police agent.
[edit] References
- ^ Spoto, Donald (1999). The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock. Da Capo. pp. 184–185. ISBN 030680932X.
- ^ a b Leitch, Thomas (2002-05-31). The Encyclopedia of Alfred Hitchcock: From Alfred Hitchcock Presents to Vertigo. Facts On File. http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~muffin/jamaica_irony.html.
- ^ Harris, Richard A.; Michael S. Lasky (2002-12-01). The Complete Films of Alfred Hitchcock (revised edition ed.). Citadel Press Film Series. http://www.britmovie.co.uk/directors/a_hitchcock/filmography/023.html.
- ^ a b c Duguid, Mark. "Jamaica Inn (1939)". filmonline. British Film Institute. http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/441604/index.html. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
- ^ Unverified claim made in IMDb Plot Summary
[edit] External links
- Jamaica Inn is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
- Jamaica Inn at AllRovi
- Jamaica Inn at the Internet Movie Database
- Jamaica Inn at Rotten Tomatoes
- Jamaica Inn Eyegate Gallery
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