Garp
Well-known member
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Week 22: 'Jamaica Inn' [1939]
Source: DVD
Hitchcock takes a backseat to Charles Laughton in this period drama, his last English film. Laughton plays a Squire who orchestrates shipwrecks off the Cornish coast to purloin their booty. Robert Newton, later to play the most famous fictional pirate of them all, is the hero out to unmask the ringleader and possibly win the hand of the beautiful Maureen O'Hara in her first starring role.
This film is an oddity, not just in the subject matter but also in that there is nothing of Hitchcock to be seen here. Like 'The Farmer's Wife' or 'Waltzes from Vienna', it feels as though anyone could have directed 'Jamaica Inn'. The sets are great, as are the use of miniatures for the shipwrecks, and some of the acting is excellent (Leslie Banks as the sleazy uncle in particular). Other than that, though, I'm not sure what to make of this one. I didn't hate it, but I didn't much enjoy it either.
I saw the Cohen Media version on DVD (another library borrow) and it is excellent. Very clear and sharp and worth checking out if you absolutely have to watch this film.
Source: DVD
Hitchcock takes a backseat to Charles Laughton in this period drama, his last English film. Laughton plays a Squire who orchestrates shipwrecks off the Cornish coast to purloin their booty. Robert Newton, later to play the most famous fictional pirate of them all, is the hero out to unmask the ringleader and possibly win the hand of the beautiful Maureen O'Hara in her first starring role.
This film is an oddity, not just in the subject matter but also in that there is nothing of Hitchcock to be seen here. Like 'The Farmer's Wife' or 'Waltzes from Vienna', it feels as though anyone could have directed 'Jamaica Inn'. The sets are great, as are the use of miniatures for the shipwrecks, and some of the acting is excellent (Leslie Banks as the sleazy uncle in particular). Other than that, though, I'm not sure what to make of this one. I didn't hate it, but I didn't much enjoy it either.
I saw the Cohen Media version on DVD (another library borrow) and it is excellent. Very clear and sharp and worth checking out if you absolutely have to watch this film.