Jamaica Inn (film) Jamaica Inn (film) Jamaica Inn is a 1939 British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock adapted from Daphne du Maurier's 1936 novel of the same name, the first of three of du Maurier's works that Hitchcock adapted (the others were her novel "Rebecca" and short story "The Birds"). It stars Charles Laughton and features Maureen O'Hara in her first major screen role. It is the last film Hitchcock made in the United Kingdom before he moved to the United States. The film is a period piece set in Cornwall in 1819; the real Jamaica Inn still exists, and is a
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