Wuthering Heights (1939)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

William Wyler

Writers:

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

Release Date:

7 April 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A Story of Vengeful Thwarted Love

Plot:

The story of unfortunate lovers Heathcliff and Cathy who, despite a deep affection for one another,...

Plot Keywords:

Moors | Dog Bite | Blizzard | Housekeeper | Period Piece

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 7 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Nov. 15

2:15 PM

TCM

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Frank Benson	...	Heathcliff Servant (uncredited)
Romaine Callender	...	Robert (uncredited)
Vernon Downing	...	Giles (uncredited)
Alice Ehlers	...	Madame Ehlers (uncredited)
Harold Entwistle	...	Beadle (uncredited)
Peter Gowland	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Helena Grant	...	Miss Hudkins (uncredited)
Sam Harris	...	Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Susanne Leach	...	Guest (uncredited)
Tommy Martin	...	Little Boy (uncredited)
Schuyler Standish	...	Little Boy (uncredited)
William Stelling	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Diane Williams	...	Little Girl (uncredited)
Eric Wilton	...	Linton Servant (uncredited)
Philip Winter	...	Cathy's Partner (uncredited)

Directed by
William Wyler

Writing credits
Charles MacArthur		(screenplay) and
Ben Hecht		(screenplay)
Emily Brontë		(novel) (as Emily Bronté)
John Huston		contributing writer (uncredited)

Produced by
Samuel Goldwyn	....	producer

Original Music by
Alfred Newman

Cinematography by
Gregg Toland

Film Editing by
Daniel Mandell

Art Direction by
James Basevi
Alexander Toluboff		(uncredited)

Set Decoration by
Julia Heron		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Omar Kiam

Makeup Department
Robert Stephanoff	....	makeup artist (as Blagoe Stephanoff)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Walter Mayo	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Paul Neal	....	sound recordist

Visual Effects by
W. Percy Day	....	matte painter (uncredited)

Other crew
Samuel Goldwyn	....	presenter
Jack Crosby	....	dances (uncredited)
Lynn Farnol	....	general press representative (uncredited)
Gus Schroeder	....	location manager (uncredited)
Peter Shaw	....	technical advisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Samuel Goldwyn Company, The

Distributors

• United Artists (1939) (USA) (theatrical)
• Film Classics (1944) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Samuel Goldwyn Company, The (1989) (USA) (theatrical)
• Continental Home Vídeo (Brazil) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Embassy Home Entertainment (19??) (USA) (VHS)
• Emerald (2008) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Home Box Office Home Video (HBO) (1997) (USA) (DVD)
• Home Box Office Home Video (HBO) (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2002) (USA) (VHS)
• Pioneer Entertainment (1995) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)

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 Cold Mountain (2003)

Soundtrack:

Piano Sonata in A major, K.331: 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.