Wuthering Heights (1939)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

William Wyler

Writers:

Charles MacArthur (screenplay) and
Ben Hecht (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

7 April 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A Story of Vengeful Thwarted Love

Plot:

The Earnshaws are Yorkshire farmers during the early 19th Century. One day, Mr. Earnshaw returns from a trip to the city...

Plot Keywords:

Moors | Dog Bite | Blizzard | Housekeeper | Period Piece

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Merle Oberon	...	Cathy
Laurence Olivier	...	Heathcliff
David Niven	...	Edgar
Flora Robson	...	Ellen
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

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-12 (1955) | UK:U | USA:Approved (certificate #5104) | Germany:6

Filming Locations:

Janss Conejo Ranch, Thousand Oaks, California, USA

Company:

Samuel Goldwyn Company, The

Trivia:

Producer Samuel Goldwyn felt that script was too dark for a romance movie, so he asked several writers to do a rewrite on the script, including a young John Huston, who said that the script needed no rewrite, it was perfect as it was.

Goofs:

Continuity: Cathy's muff disappears when she turns around after entering the room.

Quotes:

Cathy: Heathcliff, make the world stop right here. Make everything stop and stand still and never move again. Make the moors never change and you and I never change.
Heathcliff: The moors and I will never change. Don't you, Cathy.
Cathy: I can't. I can't. No matter what I ever do or say, Heathcliff, this is me now; standing on this hill with you. This is me forever.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Cider House Rules (1999)

Soundtrack:

Piano Sonata in A major, K.331: Rondo alla Turca

A nearly flawless classic

This classic version of the Bronte novel is probably familiar to most movie fans, and with good reason. Although the recent Ralph Fiennes version is also excellent, nothing can quite surpass the 1939 film's bleak black-and-white cinematography or the impassioned performance of Laurence Olivier. Some of us still mourn that his then-wife, Vivien Leigh, wasn't granted her wish to be cast as Catherine, but Merle Oberon is nonetheless excellent: her Catherine isn't quite likable, but then, she isn't supposed to be. Instead of sugar-coating the story as Hollywood is so wont to do, the filmmakers give us Cathy and Heathcliff as they should be: ruthless, selfish, destructive, and fascinating. The only major drawback is the saccharine musical score, which tries to make this wild, haunting story into a candy-box romance. Fortunately, all the other elements resist this tendency. Even though the film only covers half the novel, you'll find it satisfying and unforgettable.