Wuthering Heights ***** (1939, Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, David Niven, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Donald Crisp, Hugh Williams, Flora Robson) – Classic Movie Review 2,959

Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon star as Heathcliff and Cathy in the 1939 vintage movie version of Emily Brontë’s enchanting classic novel Wuthering Heights.

Producer Samuel Goldwyn and director William Wyler’s 1939 vintage movie version of Emily Brontë’s perennially enchanting 1847 classic yarn is splendidly romantic, atmospheric and rousing.

Wuthering Heights stars the lustrous Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon in the famous story of the doomed love affair between Cathy Linton (Oberon) and the gypsy Heathcliff (Olivier) in Victorian Yorkshire.

The screenplay by legendary writers Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur and John Huston (uncredited) ideally captures the spirit of the novel, though it only attempts to adapt the story of the first generation of characters.

Perhaps wisely, the film greatly shortens the novel’s plot by depicting just 16 of the novel’s 34 chapters and eliminating the second generation of characters, so some of the characters are shifted or omitted.

The book was divided into two volumes and the film omits the second volume. The first volume and the film’s story involves Cathy and Heathcliff. But the second later story involving Heathcliff’s interactions with Cathy’s daughter Catherine has vanished, gone with the wind, you might say.

There is a very solid, strong screenplay, expertly adapting the first volume of the only novel by English author Emily Brontë, initially published in 1847 under her pen name of Ellis Bell.

But what really counts here is Wyler’s sympathetic and painstakingly careful direction, Gregg Toland’s Oscar-winning cinematography (though it is a shame that it is in black and white), the frame-filling support acting and, above all, the triumphant romantic pairing of the two great stars, who were perhaps never more beautiful or heartrending than they are here.

It is also a pity about the studio sets and the Americanisation of the work, though, and, acting-wise, Olivier does clearly outclass a slightly over-stretched Oberon.

Also in the cast are David Niven, Hugh Williams, Flora Robson, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Donald Crisp, Leo G Carroll, Cecil Kellaway, Miles Mander, Cecil Humphreys, Sarita Wooton, Rex Downing and Douglas Scott.

Outdoor scenes were filmed in Thousand Oaks, California, with other shooting in Wildwood Regional Park and at today’s site of California Lutheran University.

It premiered on March 24, 1939 in Hollywood and was released on April 13, 1939 (US).

The film had eight nominations at the 1940 12th Academy Awards, including for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor. But there was only one win: Gregg Toland for Best Cinematography, black-and-white. It was lucky to win at all: it was the year of Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Mr Smith Goes to Washington, Goodbye, Mr Chips, The Rains Came and Stagecoach. Plus that year, Best Cinematography was split into Color and Black & White categories, so Gone with the Wind could win Best Cinematography (Color) for Ernest Haller and Ray Rennahan.

Notably, Merle Oberon did not receive an Oscar nomination for her performance, though Goldwyn intended the film as a vehicle for her.

It was the surprise winner of the 1939 New York Film Critics Award for Best Film. 

The cast

The cast are Merle Oberon as Catherine Earnshaw Linton, Laurence Olivier as Heathcliff, David Niven as Edgar Linton, Flora Robson as Ellen Dean, Geraldine Fitzgerald as Isabella Linton, Hugh Williams as Hindley Earnshaw, Donald Crisp as Dr Kenneth, Leo G Carroll as Joseph, Miles Mander as Mr Lockwood the stranger, Cecil Kellaway as Cathy’s father Earnshaw, Cecil Humphreys as Judge Linton, Sarita Wooton as Cathy as a child, Rex Downing as Heathcliff as a child, Douglas Scott as Hindley as a child, Vernon Downing as Giles, Alice Ehlers as harpsichordist Miss Erliss,

Wuthering Heights is directed by William Wyler, runs 103 minutes, is made by Samuel Goldwyn Productions, is released by United Artists, is written by Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur and John Huston, is shot in black and white by Gregg Toland, is produced by Samuel Goldwyn, is scored by Alfred Newman, and is designed by Julia Heron.

Wuthering Heights remakes

Wuthering Heights was remade in 1954, 1967 (TV Series), 1970, 1978 (TV Mini-Series), 1985, 1992, 1998 (TV Movie), 2009 (TV Mini-Series), 2011, and 2026.

The 1954 version of Wuthering Heights is a Mexican adaptation directed by Luis Buñuel. The film transposes 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).

Robert Fuest’s 1970 Wuthering Heights stars Timothy Dalton as Heathcliff and Anna Calder‑Marshall as Cathy.

Peter Kosminsky’s 1992 feature‑film Wuthering Heights is a more faithful, gritty retelling starring Juliette Binoche (as Cathy) and Ralph Fiennes (as Heathcliff).

The 2011 Wuthering Heights stars James Howson (as Heathcliff) and Kaya Scodelario (as Cathy). It aired on ITV in the UK and later on PBS Masterpiece in the US.

Andrea Arnold’s Wuthering Heights (2022) is a contemporary, atmospheric re‑imagining that returns to the novel’s bleak tone.

Director Emerald Fennell’s 2026 Wuthering Heights stars Margot Robbie as Cathy and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2,959

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com