After years of watching this movie on a poor quality DVD I'm was glad to see this on a restored print. Now I can appreciate it more for it's lively and atmospheric evocation of C1820 Cornwall. The stormy sea scenes, as ships are lured onto the coastal rocks, are exhilarating to watch. A bereaved orphan is left stranded on a remote Cornish highway. A kindly squire helps her by taking her to her aunt and uncle at the infamous Jamaica Inn. She soon discovers it's infamy for herself as it is the headquarters for the land pirates responsible for the looting of the deliberately wrecked ships. It seems Hitchcock occasionally liked to ring the changes with a historical setting and I reckon this is the best of those efforts. As co-producer of the movie, Charles Laughton gave himself license to play the double-dealing squire with pompous swagger. He does fascinate with his grimaces and lurid makeup and Joan Crawford eyebrows. Maureen O'Hara is the orphan who teams up with the undercover investigator played by Robert Newton. This movie may be more suited to swashbuckling adventure lovers but mystery fans will probably appreciate the film's constant ominous menace.
Review of Jamaica Inn
