Wuthering Heights (1939 film)

Name	Wuthering Heights
Caption	Advertisement
Director	William Wyler
Producer	Samuel Goldwyn
Writer	Charles MacArthur Ben Hecht
Based on
Starring	Merle Oberon Laurence Olivier David Niven Geraldine Fitzgerald
Music	Alfred Newman
Cinematography	Gregg Toland
Editing	Daniel Mandell
Studio	The Samuel Goldwyn Company
Distributor	United Artists
Released
Runtime	103 minutes
Country
Language	English

Wuthering Heights is a 1939 American black-and-white film directed by William Wyler and produced by Samuel Goldwyn. It is based on the novel, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. The film depicts only sixteen of the novel's thirty-four chapters, eliminating the second generation of characters. The novel was adapted for the screen by Charles MacArthur, Ben Hecht and John Huston. The film won the 1939 New York Film Critics Award for Best Film. It earned nominations for eight Academy Awards, including for Best Picture and Best Actor. The 1939 Academy Award for Best Cinematography, black-and-white category, was awarded to Gregg Toland for his work.

In 2007, Wuthering Heights was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Plot

A traveler named Lockwood (Miles Mander) is caught in the snow and stays at the estate of Wuthering Heights, where the housekeeper, Ellen Dean (Flora Robson), sits down to tell him the story in flashback. She tells him of Heathcliff (Laurence Olivier) and Catherine (Merle Oberon) and the troubled relationship they would have: she is born into wealth, and he is a poor stable boy with no expectations for acceptance in regular society.

Omissions from the novel

The film omitted any mention of Cathy's daughter and Heathcliff's son, both of whom play a major role in the last portion of the book. In the film, neither Heathcliff nor Cathy has any children.

Cast

Laurence Olivier as Heathcliff

Merle Oberon as Catherine Earnshaw Linton

David Niven as Edgar Linton

Flora Robson as Ellen Dean

Donald Crisp as Dr. Kenneth

Geraldine Fitzgerald as Isabella Linton

Leo G. Carroll as Joseph

Hugh Williams as Hindley Earnshaw

Miles Mander as Lockwood

Cecil Kellaway as Earnshaw

Cecil Humphreys as Judge Linton

Sarita Wooton as Cathy - as a Child (as Sarita Wooten)

Rex Downing as Heathcliff - as a Child

Douglas Scott as Hindley - as a Child

Production

The project was initially intended as a vehicle for Merle Oberon, who was under contract with Goldwyn at the time. However, when Laurence Olivier was cast as Heathcliff, Vivien Leigh wanted to play the lead role alongside her then lover and future husband. Studio executives felt the role could not go to an actress who was largely unknown in America, but they did offer Leigh the part of Isabella Linton. She declined, and Geraldine Fitzgerald was cast. Leigh was cast in Gone with the Wind that same year, which won her an Academy Award for Best Actress; Merle Oberon did not receive a nomination for her performance.

There were clashes on the set between actors and the director. Both of the leading players began work on the film miserable at having to leave their loved ones back in the United Kingdom; Olivier missed his fiancée Vivien Leigh and Oberon had recently fallen in love with film producer Alexander Korda. Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier also apparently detested each other. Witnesses recall Oberon scolding Olivier for accidentally spitting on her during a particularly romantic balcony scene. Oberon shouted back to Wyler, "Tell him to stop spitting at me!" Olivier retorted by shouting, "What's a little spit for Chrissake, between actors? You bloody little idiot, how dare you speak to me...?" Oberon ran crying from the set after the outburst, and Wyler insisted Olivier apologize to her, which upset Olivier greatly.

Olivier also found himself becoming increasingly annoyed with William Wyler's exhausting style of film-making. After countless takes of one scene, he is said to have exclaimed, "For God's sake, I did it sitting down. I did it with a smile. I did it with a smirk. I did it scratching my ear. I did it with my back to the camera. How do you want me to do it?" Wyler's retort was, "I want it better." Director Wyler hated the idea of the after-life scene and didn't want to do it but producer Samuel Goldwyn vetoed him, and the scene was added after primary filming was complete. As Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon had already moved on to other projects, doubles had to be used. Goldwyn subsequently claimed, "I made Wuthering Heights, Wyler only directed it." Goldwyn claimed that Wuthering Heights was his favorite of all his productions. Other writers have claimed that Goldwyn was short on funds and had to recycle costumes from a Civil War drama.

The film is rated  G  in New Zealand.

References

External links

Category:1939 films Category:American films Category:English-language films Category:1930s drama films Category:Black-and-white films Category:Films based on novels Category:Films directed by William Wyler Category:Films set in Yorkshire Category:Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography Academy Award Category:Romantic drama films Category:United Artists films Category:United States National Film Registry films