Wuthering Heights [Abismos de pasión] ***(1954, Jorge Mistral, Irasema Dilián) – Classic Movie Review 13,858

Luis Buñuel transposes Emily Brontë’s story from the Yorkshire moors to a 19th‑century Mexican hacienda setting for his 1954 Mexican film version of Wuthering Heights [Abismos de pasión].

The 1954 film version of Wuthering Heights is a Mexican adaptation directed by Luis Buñuel, transposing the story from the Yorkshire moors to a 19th‑century Mexican hacienda setting. Jorge Mistral stars as the Heathcliff‑type character and Irasema Dilián plays the Catherine‑type character. The original Spanish title is Abismos de pasión (Abysses of Passion).

Luis Buñuel’s atmospheric and rousing vintage Mexican version of Emily Brontë’s classic yarn about the doomed love affair between Cathy Linton and gypsy Heathcliff in Victorian Yorkshire is a treasured rarity.

The Emily Brontë novel had a special appeal for the Surrealists, with its extremes of passion, and this time Buñuel relocates his much-changed but still faithful-in-spirit story in Mexico, where the lovely Catalina (Irasema Diliân) is adored by Alejandro (Jorge Mistral).

Alejandro returns to his foster sister Catalina’s hacienda only to find her married to effete, rich Eduardo and longs for her to run away with him. She loves him, but also Eduardo, and is pregnant with his child. So she merely wants Alejandro to stay nearby, spare and available. To hurt Catalina, Alejandro woos Eduardo’s young sister Isabel.

It is produced by Oscar Dancigers and Abelardo L Rodríguez.

Luis Buñuel and Pierre Unik wrote a screenplay based on the 1847 Emily Brontë novel Wuthering Heights back in 1931, but it was never filmed at the time until Oscar Dancigers was finally able to secure financial backing a couple of decades later.

Cast: Irasema Diliân as Catalina, Jorge Mistral as Alejandro, Lilia Prado as Isabel, Ernesto Alonso as Eduardo, Francisco Reiguera as José, Hortensia Santoveña as María, Jaime González Quiñones as Jorge, Luis Aceves Castañeda as Ricardo.

Wuthering Heights [Abismos de Pasiôn] is directed by Luis Buñuel, runs 91 minutes, is made by Producciones Tepeyac, is released by Azteca Films (US 1954 Spanish version) and Plexus (US 1983 subtitled version), is written by Luis Buñuel (adaptation), Luis Alcoriza, Dino Maiuri (adaptation) and Julio Alejandro (adaptation), based on a story by Luis Buñuel and Pierre Unik (uncredited), based on the 1847 Emily Brontë novel Wuthering Heights, is shot in black and white by Augustîn Jiménez, is produced by Oscar Dancigers and Abelardo L Rodríguez, and is scored by Raûl Lavista.

© Derek Winnert 2026 – Classic Movie Review 13,858

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