Jamaica Inn (film) far-removed from the darker characters and sinister inn and coastline depicted in the book. Today it is considered one of Hitchcock's worst films. Hitchcock himself was disgusted with the film even before it was finished and stated that it was a "completely absurd" idea. However, the film still garnered a large profit (US$3.7 million, a huge success at the time) at the box office. Daphne du Maurier was also not pleased with the finished production and for a while she considered withholding the film rights to "Rebecca". In 1978, film critic Michael Medved gave "Jamaica Inn" a place in his
Joan Fontaine George Cukor gave her a small role in MGM's "The Women" (1939). Fontaine's luck changed one night at a dinner party when she found herself seated next to producer David O. Selznick. Selznick and she began discussing the Daphne du Maurier novel "Rebecca", and Selznick asked her to audition for the part of the unnamed heroine. She endured a grueling six-month series of film tests, along with hundreds of other actresses, before securing the part sometime before her 22nd birthday. "Rebecca" (1940), starring Laurence Olivier alongside Fontaine, marked the American debut of British director Alfred Hitchcock. The film was released