Cornwall, 1819, the start of the reign of King George IV. Joss Merlyn (Leslie Banks) and his gang lure a ship on to the rocks off the coast. As the crew attempt to escape the wreck, they are slaughtered by the gang, who make off with the ship's cargo.

A young Irish woman, Mary Yellan (Maureen O'Hara), is travelling by coach, on her way to stay with her aunt at Jamaica Inn. But the driver, who is fearful of the place, refuses to stop at the Inn, instead dropping her off at the estate of Sir Humphrey Pengallan (Charles Laughton), local squire and Justice of the Peace, who is entertaining guests. Sir Humphrey is impressed with Mary's beauty, and offers to escort her to Jamaica Inn. There, Mary is greeted by her brutish uncle, Joss, and her Aunt Patience (Marie Ney).

Sir Humphrey, Joss' boss, complains about the size of the booty. There is a commotion downstairs, and Joss goes to investigate. The gang have turned on Jem Trehearne (Robert Newton), accusing him of stealing more than his share, and hang him, swinging from a beam, then fight over his possessions. Mary, watching through a gap in the wall, cuts him down, helps him escape, and they head for a cave on the coast, with Joss' men in pursuit. They head for Sir Humphrey's estate, where they ask for his help. Jem privately tells Sir Humphrey that he is an officer of the law.

Back at the Inn, Sir Humphrey and Jem capture Joss and interrogate him about his secret employer. When Jem leaves the room, Sir Humphrey tells Joss about a new job, a ship carrying gold is passing the coast that night. When Jem is overpowered by Joss' gang, Sir Humphrey contrives to be 'captured' by Joss, and the pair are tied up. Patience is instructed to watch them, while Joss and his gang, with Mary in tow, head for the coast to prepare for the shipwreck. When the gang have left, Sir Humphrey releases himself and departs, leaving Patience to watch over Jem who, after promising to let Joss go free, eventually persuades her to release him.

At the coast, Mary sneaks away from the others and tries to raise a light to warn the ship, but she is seen by one of the gang. In the struggle, the lantern starts a fire. The ship escapes, and the men turn on Mary. Joss intervenes to protect her, and is shot as they escape. Mary helps him back to the Inn, where she and Patience try to revive him. Patience tries to tell her about Sir Humphrey, but is shot before she can finish. Immediately after, Joss dies of his injuries.

Sir Humphrey appears, with gun in hand. As he gags and binds her, he tells her he is leaving the country, taking her with him. They are spotted leaving by the returning gang. The gang find Joss and Patience's bodies, and decide to scatter, but before they can leave Jem arrives with troops, and the gang members are rounded up.

Jem learns that Sir Humphrey has taken Mary, and heads off in pursuit. Jem and his troops catch up with them at the docks, where their ship is about to depart. Mary, now convinced Sir Humphrey is insane, begs them not to harm him. When he realises he is cornered, Sir Humphrey climbs the rigging, finally jumping to his death. Jem leads Mary away.

A 1939 British Black & White adventure thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, produced by Erich Pommer and Charles Laughton, written by Sidney Gilliat, Joan Harrison, Alma Reville and J. B. Priestley, adapted from Daphne du Maurier's 1936 novel of the same name, cinematography by Bernard Knowles and Harry Stradling, starring Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Hara, Leslie Banks (Count Zaroff in "The Most Dangerous Game" (1932)), Robert Newton, Marie Ney, Horace Hodges, Hay Petrie, Frederick Piper, Herbert Lomas, Clare Greet, William Devlin, Emlyn Williams, Jeanne de Casalis, and Mabel Terry-Lewis.

Maureen O'Hara's first major screen role. Laughton brought her to Hollywood to play Esmeralda opposite his Quasimodo in the hit "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1939), and she became an international star.

Charles Laughton was a co-producer on this movie, and interfered with Hitchcock's direction. Laughton initially was cast as Joss, but re-cast himself as Pengallan, originally a hypocritical preacher, but rewritten as a squire because unsympathetic portrayals of the clergy were forbidden by the Production Code in Hollywood. Sidney Gilliat did the rewrite as a favor to Hitchcock. Laughton then demanded that Hitchcock give his character more screen time, forcing Hitchcock to reveal that Pengallan was a villain earlier in the film than Hitchcock had initially planned.

The film was a commercial success and in March 1939 Hitchcock moved to Hollywood to begin his contract with David O. Selznick. Thus Jamaica Inn was his last picture made in Britain until the 1970s.

The film is a period piece set in Cornwall in 1820, in the real Jamaica Inn (which still exists) on the edge of Bodmin Moor. It is the first of three of du Maurier's works that Hitchcock adapted. The others were her novel "Rebecca," and short story "The Birds".

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