The Cool Channel DVD Review: Jamaica Inn Posted by J.D. Dunn on 09.28.2006
Hitchcock takes a rare trip into the past but sticks with some familiar themes.
Jamaica Inn (1938)
D:Alfred Hitchcock W:Sidney Gilliat, from a novel by Daphne Du Maurier Starring:Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Hara, Leslie Banks and Mary Ney. MPAA: NR Runtime: 108m.
The Film:
In one of the oddest departures of theme from Hitchcock yet, he decided to take on a period piece about pirates. He had already agreed to leave his home country for America and David O'Selznick's greener pastures, so this wasn't exactly his top priority. It is exceedingly rare to find a Hitchcock film that is "out of time." He preferred working in the here and now, examining today's problems. In fact, only this film and his later "Under Capricorn" are based outside of the present. That might explain why Hitchcock derided it as one of his least favorite films.
O'Hara plays Mary, a beautiful, young girl whose mother has just died. With nowhere left to go, Mary arrives at the title location to stay with her aunt Patience (Ney) and her abusive, tyrannical uncle Joss (Banks). It's obviously an unhappy time for her.
Jamaica Inn lies just off the coast, presumably near a sea port because Uncle Joss is secretly part of a gang of murderous pirates who lure ships to the rocks, slaughter the passengers, and keep the booty for themselves. Of course, this is 1819, so the British coast guard hasn't been invented yet. Someone has secretly been hoarding the booty, and the prime suspect is newbie James "Jem" Trahearne (Robert Newton).
“It is exceedingly rare to find a Hitchcock film that is "out of time." He preferred working in the here and now, examining today's problems.”
When Mary saves Jem's life from the angry mob, it puts them both at risk from the pirates who want to keep them from alerting the authorities. Problems arise when Mary doesn't trust Jem because he is, after all, a pirate. The film then turns into "Young and Innocent" crossed with "The 39 Steps" only set 120 years in the past. Mary takes Jem to Sir Humphrey (Laughton), the local nobility (and therefore law enforcement). Unfortunately, much like Godfrey Tearle's character in "The 39 Steps," he's actually in league with the pirates.
Period Pieces
As I mentioned, this is one of Hitchcock's few period pieces, but the result feels like bits and pieces of better Hitchcock films grafted onto a costume drama from the 1800s. It reveals very little to note that, like John Stuart in "Number 17," Newton's Jem is not all he appears. Laughton is a rotund, bombastic version of Tearle's Professor Jordan in "The 39 Steps," and O'Hara plays the usual spoiled love interest who eventually melts in the light of the protagonist's heroism.
Newton and O'Hara don't have particularly good chemistry, nor are their characters very interesting, and what little romance there is isn't convincing. Laughton provides most of the fun with his hammy performance. The coastline setting thankfully provides a lot of scenery because Laughton chews it at every opportunity. He's a decidedly non-Hitchcockian performer — loud and over-the-top. Laughton would go on to directorial fame himself with his lone directorial piece, the surrealist masterpiece "Night of the Hunter."
The 411: "Jamaica Inn" marks the end of Hitchcock's British period. And, as with "Number 17" that ended his British International Pictures period, this is not an impressive effort to end on. It's not a bad film, but we've seen all of it done before with better talent and better directorial effort. C-
