In the 1800s in England a young woman (Maureen O'Hara) finds out her uncle is part of a smuggling gang. They purposefully arrange shipwrecks, kill the crew and take anything of value from the ships. She tries to stop them but has to deal with evil Sir Humphrey (Charles Laughton).<br /><br />Ho-hum. This was an expensive production and the last film Hitchcock directed in England before leaving for America. (He wouldn't return until the 1950s for "Stage Fright") The plot is, to be blunt, pretty dull and obvious. I saw everything coming from a mile away. Also there is a laughably obvious toy boat used in the shipwreck we see--but that was probably state of the art in 1939.<br /><br />Acting doesn't help. Maureen O'Hara looks lovely but gives a surprisingly bad performance--but she was only 18 at the time so she can be forgiven. Laughton however overacts--badly. He always overacted but usually directors reigned him in. Hitchcock couldn't. Laughton and him had huge fights on the set which Laughton always won. That's too bad because his WAY over the top acting harms the film.<br /><br />It isn't totally unwatchable. There is (of course) some beautifully directed sequences--including the opening shipwreck. And there is an eerie atmosphere helped by the b&w photography and dismal settings. But the story is dull and it's obvious that Hitchcock's heart wasn't into this. It took me 2 showings to stay awake--I kept falling asleep. Unless you're a Hitchcock completest you can skip this. Not recommended.