Aberdeen Journal (03/Oct/1939) - Jamaica Inn

Details

• article: Jamaica Inn
• newspaper: Aberdeen Journal (03/Oct/1939)
• keywords: Alfred Hitchcock, Charles Laughton, Daphne du Maurier, Emlyn Williams, Jamaica Inn (1939), Leslie Banks, Marie Ney, Maureen O'Hara, Robert Newton

Article

"JAMAICA INN" (Capitol). — Two names commend at once this version of Daphne du Maurier's novel of the bad old Cornish wreckers — Charles Laughton and Alfred Hitchcock. Expectations are high and there is no disappointment. As the villainous squire who satisfies his taste for luxury by getting a band of ruffians to lure ships on to the Cornish rocks and then to plunder them, Mr Laughton gives a characteristic performance. It is not, perhaps, original Laughton, but the actor straddles the scene and Mr Hitchcock serves him particularly well in bringing out the "asides" to detail which Mr Laughton can do so well with the flicker of an eyelid or the wave of a wrist.

It is interesting to find Mr Hitchcock directing a costume piece for a change. He produces terrific pace, which suits the bloodthirsty plot excellently, and he brings the best out of such fine supporting players as Marie Ney, Leslie Banks, Emlyn Williams, Robert Newton and Maureen O'Hara.