Wuthering Heights (1939)

A servant in the house of Wuthering Heights tells a traveler the unfortunate tale of lovers Cathy and Heathcliff.

Director:

William Wyler

Writers:

Charles MacArthur (screen play), Ben Hecht (screen play)

Stars:

Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, David Niven

Won 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Merle Oberon	...	Cathy
Laurence Olivier	...	Heathcliff
David Niven	...	Edgar
Flora Robson	...	Ellen Dean
Donald Crisp	...	Dr. Kenneth
Geraldine Fitzgerald	...	Isabella
Hugh Williams	...	Hindley
Leo G. Carroll	...	Joseph
Miles Mander	...	Lockwood
Cecil Kellaway	...	Earnshaw
Cecil Humphreys	...	Judge Linton
Sarita Wooton	...	Cathy (as a child) (as Sarita Wooten)
Rex Downing	...	Heathcliff (as a child)
Douglas Scott	...	Hindley (as a child)

Storyline

The story of unfortunate lovers Heathcliff and Cathy who, despite a deep affection for one another, are forced by circumstance and prejudice to live their lives apart. Heathcliff and Cathy first meet as children when her father brings the abandoned boy to live with them. When the old man dies several years later Cathy's brother, now the master of the estate, turns Heathcliff out forcing him to live with the servants and working as a stable boy. The barrier of class comes between them and she eventually marries a rich neighbor, Mr. Edgar Linton, at which point Heathcliff disappears. He returns several years later, now a rich man but little can be done.

---

Plot Keywords:

national film registry | afi | servant | children | moors | 

---

Taglines:

UNFORGETTABLE IN ITS EMOTIONAL APPEAL! (British Quad)

---

Genres:

Drama | Romance

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 April 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cumbres borrascosas

Filming Locations:

Janss Conejo Ranch, Thousand Oaks, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$593,914, 31 December 1989

Company Credits

Production Co:

Samuel Goldwyn Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The one happy relationship on the set was between William Wyler and cinematographer Gregg Toland. The two had worked together successfully on three prior pictures (and would collaborate on three more after this). They had great respect for each other and were perfectly in synch with their ideas of lyrical, fluid camera movements, long takes, and deep-focus photography that would reveal backgrounds as clearly as characters and images close to the camera.

---

Goofs

Though the social situations, and even the soundtrack, are consistent with the novel's timeframe of 1770-1801, the Colonial/Napoleonic era, the costumes are clearly an odd mix of mid-Victorian and American Civil War.

---

Quotes

Heathcliff: If he loved you with all the power of his soul for a whole lifetime, he couldn't love you as much as I do in a single day.

---

Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: On the barren Yorkshire moors in England, a hundred years ago, stood a house as bleak and desolate as the wastes around it. Only a stranger lost in a storm would have dared to knock at the door of Wuthering Heights.

---

Connections

Referenced in Buñuel y la mesa del rey Salomón (2001)

---

Soundtracks

Piano Sonata in A major, K.331: Rondo alla Turca
(1778) (uncredited)
Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Played by Alice Ehlers on harpsichord

User Reviews

No one has ever said "Cathy!" like Olivier!

With Olivier, Oberon and Niven for stars, a Hecht/MacArthur screenplay and William Wyler direction; it would be hard to miss. Some scenes, however, are devastatingly powerful in there simplicity.When Heathcliff returns after a long absence he looks at Cathy and Linton and says " It occurs to me that I have not congratulated you upon your marriage (pause)I've often thought of it." Cathy's eyes drop. We all know what he was thinking of and so does Cathy. It needn't be said. The most understated(and perhaps finest) performance is given by Hugh Williams as Hinley. His portrayal of a man broken by inner weakness and failure, to me, has always been a film highlight. Add to this a score by Alfred Newman as haunting as the moors themselves and Wuthering Heights is forever in your heart.