Wuthering Heights (1939)

A servant in the house of Wuthering Heights tells a traveller 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.

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Plot Keywords:

based on novel | national film registry | afi | servant | children | 

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Taglines:

UNFORGETTABLE IN ITS EMOTIONAL APPEAL! (British Quad)

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 April 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Wuthering Heights

Filming Locations:

Janss Conejo Ranch, Thousand Oaks, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$593,914, 31 December 1989

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Samuel Goldwyn Company

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 Director William Wyler and Cinematographer Gregg Toland. The two had worked together successfully on three prior movies and collaborated on three more after this. They had great respect for each other and were perfectly in sync 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.

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Goofs

When Cathy begins to chase Heathcliff in the rain, Ellen brings her a shawl and begins to drape it over her shoulders. In the next close-up of Cathy's face, the shawl is over her head and she is holding the two sides together under her chin.

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Quotes

Isabella: If Cathy died... I might begin to live.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in And the Oscar Goes To... (2014)

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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

Very moving film

I have not read the Emily Bronte novel on which this film is based so obviously I cannot comment on the effectiveness of it as an adaptation (I understand that almost the entire second half of the book was excised). However, I thoroughly enjoyed the film. Oberon and especially Olivier, one of my favorites, are very convincing and moving as the doomed lovers Cathy and Heathcliff (according to my friend, Heathcliff is written as being much more likeable in the film than in the book). The supporting cast was also very good. Wuthering Heights just deals very poignantly with the effect that birth and status have on people's lives. Yet another winner from Wyler. My score 9/10.