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Jamaica Inn

Jamaica Inn

Crime · Adventure · Thriller · 1939

In early 19th-century Cornwall, young Mary Yellan travels to live with her aunt and uncle at the remote Jamaica Inn, where she discovers the inn is a front for a violent gang of wreckers who lure ships to their doom along the coast. As she becomes entangled in their crimes, Mary must fight to survive and uncover the truth behind the terror that haunts the moors.

Movie details

Jamaica Inn

“He ruled Jamaica Inn...citadel of sin on the moors, curse-ridden, shunned, reviled. Enough sensations for a dozen pictures. Laughton at his most magnificent.”

1939 Crime · Adventure · Thriller 1h 40m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

6.3 / 10

11.9K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

54 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

52 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

6.1 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

In early 19th-century Cornwall, young Mary Yellan travels to live with her aunt and uncle at the remote Jamaica Inn, where she discovers the inn is a front for a violent gang of wreckers who lure ships to their doom along the coast. As she becomes entangled in their crimes, Mary must fight to survive and uncover the truth behind the terror that haunts the moors.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Jamaica Inn?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Palmetto

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Where it lives

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Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Alfred Hitchcock

Written by

Joan Harrison · Sidney Gilliat

Charles Laughton

Charles Laughton

Sir Humphrey Pengallan

Maureen O'Hara

Maureen O'Hara

Mary Yellan

Robert Newton

Robert Newton

James "Jem" Trehearne

Leslie Banks

Leslie Banks

Joss Merlyn

Marie Ney

Marie Ney

Patience Merlyn

Horace Hodges

Horace Hodges

Chadwick

Emlyn Williams

Emlyn Williams

Harry

Court is in session

Put Jamaica Inn on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Momentum is a formal choice.”

The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.

The prosecution The Auteur Devotee

“Speed as an alibi.”

The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.