Wuthering Heights (1939)

Director:

William Wyler

Writers:

Emily Brontë (novel)
Charles MacArthur (writer) ...

Release Date:

13 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:

Blizzard | British | Male Female Relationship | Melancholy | Alcoholism

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Merle Oberon	...	Cathy Earnshaw / Linton
Laurence Olivier	...	Heathcliff
David Niven	...	Edgar Linton
Flora Robson	...	Ellen Dean
Donald Crisp	...	Dr. Kenneth
Geraldine Fitzgerald	...	Isabella Linton
Hugh Williams	...	Hindley Earnshaw
Leo G. Carroll	...	Joseph
Miles Mander	...	Lockwood
Cecil Kellaway	...	Mr. 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:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG | 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:

The film was not a big financial success when first released. It had to be re-released years later to earn a profit.

Goofs:

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

Quotes:

Heathcliff: Why are your eyes always empty? Like Linton's eyes.
Isabella: They're not empty, if you'd only look deeper. Look at me. I'm pretty. I'm a woman and I love you. You're all of life to me. Let me be a single breath of it for you.

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Rondo alla Turca

A Goldwyn-Wyler-Bronte Masterpiece

One of the finest romantic films ever filmed, this 1939 Samuel Goldwyn production rates with many - including myself - as being the most beloved version of Emily Bronte's haunting novel. Although it stops at chapter seventeen and the ending is seen as a bit trite by some, it's a brilliantly enacted, finely mounted production with beautiful photography and authentic period detail set-wise. Merle Oberon is well-cast as the selfish, vain and rather shallow Cathy. What makes her character so intriguing and interesting is that no matter what happens to her materially, she has an undying love for the gypsy-blooded heathen named Heathcliff. Laurence Olivier, never a great success in films prior to this, gives a brutally honest account of everything Bronte's Heathcliff should be: proud, bold, vengeful & darkly brooding -a tortured soul in general. Wyler's guiding hand is patent throughout: it was Olivier himself who gave credit to the meticulous director in teaching him the particular ropes of screen acting: it shows! Lady-like Isabella is well-played by the Irish Geraldine Page, while Ellen, the long-suffering servant is played sympathetically by the fine character actress Flora Robson. David Niven, ideally cast as the milquetoasty Edgar Linton, actually had a clause in his contract which freed him from having to do crying scenes! A timeless masterpiece of the "haunting" love story genre, this was Goldwyn's personal favourite of all his films.