Wuthering Heights (1939)

Matthew Harrison

The story of Wuthering Heights will likely be familiar to many readers of literature. The vagabond child Heathcliff is taken in by the owner of Wuthering Heights, Mr. Earnshaw, and becomes a foster brother to his children Cathy and Hindley. After Earnshaw’s death, Hindley, who has never liked Heathcliff, forces him to serve as a stable boy. Nonetheless, Heathcliff is a friend and kindred spirit to Cathy, and they harbor a secret romance. Cathy, however, longs to live a life of prosperity and comfort, and marries a wealthy neighbor, Edgar Linton. Heathcliff runs away and returns a wealthy man, buying Wuthering Heights to avenge himself upon Hindley, who has descended into drunkenness and gambling. He then marries Isabella, Edgar’s sister who has become smitten with Heathcliff. However, Heathcliff’s heart belongs only to Cathy, who soon dies of illness. This story is told through the remembrances of Ellen, who relates her memories to a tenant who is staying at Wuthering Heights through a storm and who encounters the ghost of a girl while sleeping in Cathy’s former room. The film ends with Cathy and Heathcliff, apparently reunited in death, walking the moors together again.

As those who have read the original novel will note, the film excises nearly half of the original story, leaving out the children of Cathy, Hindley, and Heathcliff and their eventual relationships in order to focus solely on the romance of Cathy and Heathcliff. Specifically, much of the story focuses on the duality of Cathy – her desires to belong to the civilized, upper-class world or her neighbors, and her conflicting spiritual kinship with the wild, passionate, and somewhat primitive Heathcliff.

There are two main highlights of this film. First, the incredible cinematography, for which the film won an Academy Award, cannot be overlooked. The exterior shots are stunning, and the care that the filmmakers took to replicate the moors on which the story takes place is noteworthy. One thing that struck me personally was how the weather was depicted much like in the novel, with strong winds, storms, rain and snow which bring to mind the emotional states of the characters. The brief depictions of the grief-stricken Heathcliff at the opening of the film are mirrored in the blowing snow and frigid cold of the landscape, reflecting his own lack of emotional warmth.

The other noteworthy aspect of the film is the acting of the principal performers. Laurence Olivier captures the brooding, tormented nature of Heathcliff with quiet intensity. Merle Oberon at times seems two different people in portraying Cathy’s dual moods. A curious note that was made in the AMC intro to my recorded copy (but also verified on IMDB) is that Olivier and Oberon hated each other. Oberon reportedly complained that while filming the romantic scenes, Olivier would spit on her, which in one case led to an argument on set. It is a credit to their respective skills that their personal feelings were hidden beneath their performances.