Jamaica Inn - Alfred Hitchcock

Oh, what to write about Jamaica Inn. According to Donald Spoto in his book The Art of Alfred Hitchcock, even Hitchcock himself said "Jamaica Inn was an absurd thing to undertake." This film based on a novel by Daphne du Maurier - yes, THAT Daphne du Maurier of Rebecca and The Birds fame, with additional dialogue by J. B. Priestly, the author of An Inspector Calls. The film stars Charles Laughton, and introduces Maureen O'Hara. While Laughton had an established stage and film career at the time, O'Hara had only done two other pictures before this, both with a different last name. You will also see Basil Radford from Young and Innocent and The Lady Vanishes, as well as Leslie Banks from The Man Who Knew Too Much. 

So, what is the film about? Smugglers, class differences between the rich and the poor, the established gentry and the working folk. Jamaica Inn is a hideaway for a group of smugglers. The husband and wife team who own the inn - well, they have a rocky relationship as the film is set in 1819 so he is clearly the head of the household, and has an abusive side to him - are related to O'Hara's character Mary. Mary is the niece of the wife. After Mary's mother dies, she shows up on their doorstep and that is that. Is there romance - somewhat. Is there a mystery? Only if the smugglers are going to get caught or not. What I did notice at the end of this film is how many of Hitchcock's films end with the villain either getting killed, committing suicide, or dying in some way. One thing to take into account is this was Hitchcock's final film made in England for a while. After this he moved to America and worked there for a number of years, and creating the majority of his master films, in my humble opinion. There is no cameo, and I watched this as part of the out-of-print Legend Series. However, it looks like other options might be available.