Wuthering Heights

WUTHERING HEIGHTS (U)

D: William Wyler

United Artists (Samuel Goldwyn)

US 🇺🇸 1939

103 mins

Romance/Drama

W: Ben Hecht & Charles MacArthur [based on the novel by Emily Brontë]

DP: Gregg Toland

Ed: Daniel Mandell

Mus: Alfred Newman

PD: James Basevi

Cos: Omar Kiam

Laurence Olivier (Heathcliff), Merle Oberon (Cathy Earnshaw-Linton), David Niven (Edgar Linton), Flora Robson (Ellen Dean), Geraldine Fitzgerald (Isabella Linton), Hugh Williams (Hindley Earnshaw), Donald Crisp (Dr. Kenneth)

This 1939 adaptation of the literary classic tackles the first half of Emily Brontë’s Victorian novel, which was probably a good decision to prevent the film from being over 3 hours long.

It presents the tragic love story of Heathcliff & Cathy. Cathy, the daughter of a Yorkshire landowner grows up with Heathcliff, an orphan boy who is adopted by the same family and works as a servant when the family patriarch passes away.

Though romance develops between Cathy & Heathcliff, she is drawn to a life of high society and marries another man of good standing, but Heathcliff comes into fortune himself and becomes the new owner of the family home of Wuthering Heights, causing a jealous rift with Cathy when he romances her husband’s sister.

Though it’s evident that this production is very set-bound, it’s given some scope for realism of the vast Yorkshire moors by Gregg Toland’s masterful cinematography.

The performances from the ensemble are all excellent, and though it only tackles half of the book, I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing, as it’s perfectly acceptable for there to be slight changes between the mediums.  Personally, it makes me want to read the book even more, which could never be a negative consequence.

8/10