- Whatever you do, don't stop off at the Jamaica Inn. In the early nineteenth century, when this film is set, the Inn is a refuge for the worst kind of pirates and cutthroats. Led by the barbaric Joss Merlyn (Leslie Banks), this vicious band of thieves lures ships to their doom, knifing their men and plundering their cargo. Coach drivers are afraid to stop there, and decent citizens simply won't acknowledge it. Unfortunately, the Jamaica Inn also happens to be where the innocent Mary Yellen (Maureen O'Hara) hopes to visit her Aunt Patience (Marie Ney). Worse yet, her aunt is married to Joss Merlyn.
- While Merlyn would normally be the most despicable character in a film (and believe me, he tries), it turns out that he is taking orders from an even more dastardly fellow. As it happens, the plump, theatrical aristocrat Sir Humphrey Pengallon (Charles Laughton) is really giving the orders. Beneath his facade of propriety, Pengallon's growing madness compels him to seek ever more riches no matter the cost. He and Joss are thus quite alarmed to discover that Mary has helped the thief Traherne (Robert Newton) to escape hanging. Although they're worried that the two might inform the authorities, their concern would only be increased if they knew that Traherne was an undercover officer of the law.
- Admittedly, Jamaica Inn is not one of Hitchcock's best films. Pengallon, Joss, and the pirates are cartoonishly diabolical in a mustache-twirling sort of way, and none of the characters are particularly well-realized. That said, the film is not one of The Fifty Worst Films of All Time and deserves at least a modicum of praise. Personally, I enjoyed the film's several memorable panning shots that swept across searching pirates before revealing where the heroes were hiding. The film's best scene takes place near the end, however, as Mary heroically hoists a flaming flag to warn off a ship that is about to crash. While that is the best scene, the most memorable scene of the film is of course Pengallon's last stand. I can't put it any better than Charles Laughton did: "What are you all waiting for? A spectacle? You shall have it and tell your children how the great age ended. Make way for Pengallon!"
- The film was based on a novel by Daphne du Maurier.
- I don't think Hitchcock cameoed in this one.
