Wuthering Heights (1939 film)

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This article is about the 1939 film. For the 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, see Wuthering Heights. For other uses, see Wuthering Heights (disambiguation).
Wuthering Heights
Directed by William Wyler
Produced by Samuel Goldwyn
Written by Emily Brontë (novel)
Charles MacArthur
Ben Hecht
Starring Merle Oberon
Laurence Olivier
David Niven
Music by Alfred Newman
Cinematography Gregg Toland
Editing by Daniel Mandell
Distributed by United Artists
Release date(s) 13 April 1939 (USA)
Running time 103 mins.
Country United States
Language English
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Wuthering Heights is a 1939 film, directed by William Wyler and produced by Samuel Goldwyn. It is based on the celebrated novel, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, although the film only depicts sixteen of the novel's thirty-four chapters. The novel was adapted for the screen by Charles MacArthur, Ben Hecht and John Huston. Some consider it to be the best film version of Brontë's novel ever made (although it omits almost the entire second half of the book), and was the film responsible for making Laurence Olivier a Hollywood star. The film earned nominations for eight Academy Awards, including the awards for Best Picture, Best Actor and Best cinematography, which Gregg Toland won for his work on the film.

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".

Contents

[edit] Main cast

[edit] Awards and nominations

[edit] Won

[edit] Nominated

[edit] 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 have any children.

[edit] Filming

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. [1] 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.

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 was missing his fiancée Vivien Leigh and Oberon had recently fallen in love with film producer Alexander Korda.[2]

Further, Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier 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.[3]

Laurence Olivier 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."[3]

Olivier in later years was more kind in his opinion about Wyler. In both his autobiography and his book On Acting, Olivier credits William Wyler with teaching him how to act in films, as opposed to on the stage, and for giving him a new respect for films. Olivier had tended to "ham it up", as if he were playing to the second balcony, but Wyler showed him how to act more subtly.

In the final sequence of Wuthering Heights, the spirits of Heathcliff and Cathy are seen walking together. This was added after filming was complete. As Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon had already moved on to other projects, doubles had to be used. Director Wyler hated the idea of the after-life scene and didn't want to do it, but producer Samuel Goldwyn vetoed him. Goldwyn subsequently claimed, "I made Wuthering Heights, Wyler only directed it." [4] He also claimed that this film is his favorite of all his productions.[2]

David Niven remembers the filming of Merle Oberon's deathbed scenes (recorded in his bestselling book The Moon's a Balloon) as less than romantic. He had been given a substance to help it appear as if he were crying, which instead had the effect of making "green goo" come out of his nose.

[edit] Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • The Mitchell Camera Corporation selected cinematographer Gregg Toland and Wuthering Heights to be the first to use their new Mitchell BNC camera. This camera model would become the studio standard.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Purse, Marcia (2006-06-18). Vivien Leigh - Actress. About.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
  2. ^ a b c Dirks, Tim. Wuthering Heights (1939). Filmsite.org. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
  3. ^ a b Herman, Jan (1997). A Talent For Trouble: The Life of Hollywood's Most Acclaimed Director, William Wyler. Da Capo Press. ISBN 030680798X. 
  4. ^ Nuggehalli, Nigam. Wuthering Heights (1939). CultureVulture.net. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Films directed by William Wyler
1920s
The Crook Buster (1925) • The Gunless Bad Man (1926) • Ridin' for Love (1926) • The Fire Barrier (1926) • Don't Shoot (1926) • The Pinnacle Rider (1926) • Martin of the Mounted (1926) • Lazy Lightning (1926) • The Stolen Ranch (1926) • The Two Fister (1927) • Kelcy Gets His Man (1927) • Tenderfoot Courage (1927) • The Silent Partner (1927) • Blazing Days (1927) • Shooting Straight (1927) • Galloping Justice (1927) • The Haunted Homestead (1927) • Hard Fists (1927) • The Lone Star (1927) • The Home Trail (1927) • Gun Justice (1927) • The Phantom Outlaw (1927) • The Square Shooter (1927) • The Horse Trader (1927) • Daze of the West (1927) • The Border Cavalier (1927) • Desert Dust (1927) • Thunder Riders (1928) • Anybody Here Seen Kelly? (1928) • The Shakedown (1929) • The Love Trap (1929)
1930s
Hell's Heroes (1930) • The Storm (1930) • A House Divided (1931) • Tom Brown of Culver (1932) • Her First Mate (1933) • Counsellor at Law (1933) • Glamour (1934) • The Good Fairy (1935) • The Gay Deception (1935) • Barbary Coast (1935) • These Three (1936) • Dodsworth (1936) • Come and Get It (1936) • Dead End (1937) • Jezebel (1938) • Wuthering Heights (1939)
1940s
The Westerner (1940) • The Letter (1940) • The Little Foxes (1941) • Mrs. Miniver (1942) • The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress (1944) • The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) • Thunderbolt (1947) • The Heiress (1949)
1950s
Detective Story (1951) • Carrie (1952) • Roman Holiday (1953) • The Desperate Hours (1955) • Friendly Persuasion (1956) • The Big Country (1958) • Ben-Hur (1959)
1960s
The Children's Hour (1961) • The Collector (1965) • How to Steal a Million (1966) • Funny Girl (1968)
1970s