“Jamaica Inn” (1939)
The notorious whipping boy of the legend’s CV, on paper it’s hard to see where “Jamaica Inn” went so horribly wrong. Based on the book by Daphne du Maurier (eventually also the source for “Rebecca” and “The Birds”), the story concerns smugglers who tamper with lighthouses in order to ultimately rob the unlucky ships that run aground, killing all aboard and delivering the spoils to Humphrey Pengallon, the magistrate. The niece of one crook (also the keeper of the titular inn) discovers her uncle’s true ways and interferes with the lynching of a former member who also happens to be a double agent, sent undercover by the law. The two escape from the clutches of the group, working tirelessly to stop another shipwreck — and hey, don’t you know it, they start to dig each other’s company. Though many Hitchcock elements are in play and the talent — Robert Newton, Maureen O’Hara, Charles Laughton (who would eventually go on to make the incredible “The Night Of The Hunter”) — is pretty considerable, the entire film is rather strained and lifeless. Both the smugglers and the magistrate are downright weird characters, but instead of utilizing their oddness, it seems that Hitchcock hoped we’d ignore it. The director spoke of clashing with Laughton, who was additionally a producer on the project and had his own ideas of how to run the show. His idea for the character clearly clashed with the director’s, creating a tonally awkward and often silly atmosphere. The last film Hitchcock did before journeying to America was one that he was always unhappy with, and could barely talk about when interviewed extensively by Francois Truffaut. It’s understandable: aside from the exciting opening sequence of a ship hijacking, most of ‘Jamaica’ is dull as nails. [D+]
Other: Hitchcock was meant to have made his directorial debut at Gainsborough Pictures in 1922 with “Number 13,” also known as “Mrs. Peabody” — filming began, but it ran out of money, and any footage has been lost. A similar fate also met his 1927 second feature, “The Mountain Eagle,” a Kentucky-set melodrama filmed in Austria. The director told Truffaut that he thought it was “awful,” and that he was “not sorry there are no known prints.” But the film remains a holy grail for cinephiles. Around the same time, Hitchcock co-directed (with Seymour Hicks) a short comedy called “Always Tell Your Wife,” but only a single reel survives.
Another curio for Hitchcock fans is “Elstree Calling,” a “cine-radio review” involving sketches and musical numbers, in the manner of films like “Paramount on Parade.” Hitchcock contributed the linking segments, about a man trying to tune in to the revue on television (several years before TV broadcasts began in the U.K.; it may be the first movie to directly refer to television).
Something had to slip through our cracks, and we were ultimately unable to track down copies of either 1928’s “Champagne,” a poorly-regarded light silent comedy starring Betty Balfour, or 1932’s comedy-heist-thriller “Number Seventeen.” If you’ve seen either, do let us know what you think of them in the comments section below.
– Jessica Kiang, Oliver Lyttelton, Katie Walsh, Kimber Myers, Christopher Bell, Sam Chater