Wuthering Heights (1939)

From Emily Bronte's classic novel, adapted by Charles MacArthur and Ben Hecht, William Wyler tells the haunting tale of unrequited love on the lonely moors of Yorkshire.

A movie from the golden age of Hollywood with the best of inputs, including cast, sets, and costumes, the premium quality dark cinematography by Gregg Toland creates a mood of foreboding that prefigures that which he will do for Citizen Kane.

The story is told through the eyes of the housekeeper Ellen, played by Flora Robson, who lived out the drama over many years.

As the movie opens, a visitor comes to Wuthering Heights, a lonely estate on the moor in Yorkshire. The snow is blinding when he arrives and he receives little encouragement from Heathcliff (Laurence Olivier), the master of the house; but Heathcliff lets him stay there while the storm rages. Sometime during the night Heathcliff is awakened by the visitor's excited yells. He says he saw a woman at the window and she touched his hand. Her hand was ice cold. With that Heathcliff bursts from the house and runs out onto the moor, and the housekeeper begins her tale in a long flashback that covers 95% of the running time.

The squire of the estate, Mr. Earnshaw (Cecil Kellaway) brings back a gypsy boy to be raised as one of his own. This has mixed reactions from Earnshaw's kids; a boy and girl named Hindley and Cathy (Merle Oberon). The boy is jealous of Heathcliff (Laurence Olivier) and abuses him. The girl likes Heathcliff and begins a fantasy life with him at a crag on the moor. There, their class differences disappear and they can share their love without reproach.

When the father dies untimely, Hindley allows Heathcliff to live on at the estate but only as a stable boy. Hindley is a profligate with drinking and gambling problems. Cathy runs hot and cold but typically wants to make a better life than her brother or Heathcliff can provide. She finally marries the neighbor at the next estate, played by David Niven. Heathcliff runs away to America and makes his fortune. In a sort of Count of Monte Cristo twist, Heathcliff returns to Wuthering Heights to wreak revenge on the people who have wronged him.

Wuthering Heights appeared in the one year (1939) where it had such stiff competition that most of the Academy Awards passed it by. "Best actor" went to Robert Donat and "Best Actress" went to Vivien Leigh; Gone With the Wind, of course, was the best picture. The one Oscar Wuthering Heights won was well deserved for best cinematography, a tribute to the drop-dead gorgeous moody job Gregg Toland did, making the world of Wuthering Heights an organic environment.

The acting was uniformly excellent; however, the interactions sometimes transcended mere drama and moved almost into Italian Opera or Soap Opera level, which I thought, was a minor con. The supporting cast was superb with Flora Robson, Cecil Kellaway, and Hugh Williams (Hindley) as standouts. The sets and costuming were ultra high class given what a high profile production this was. Alfred Newman (not Alfred E. Neuman) did the score, and it was quite well done.

The DVD is released by HBO. It is the 1939 Samuel Goldwyn Production, not a remake. The video is well maintained and the audio only has a few wavers in such an old film. It is in B&W and in 1.33:1 format. The running time is 104 minutes. There is a short interview with Geraldine Fitzgerald who played the gal Heathcliff married (Isabella) to get revenge on Cathy.

Movies as well done as this seldom come along, so if you want a romance, you can hardly do better than Wuthering Heights

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good Date Movie