johnh-82905 Am I the only here who has watched Wuthering Heights numerous times, in the hope that I would finally see what the acclaim was about, just to see Oberon's awful performance which then brings Olivier's down, too, although this isn't one of my favorite Olivier roles either. Oberon's Cathy is spoiled and willfull, but so was Vivien Leigh's Scarlet in Gone with the Wind, yet Leigh is watchable, not a performance worthy of Best Actress, but watchable. Oberon didn't improve with age or experience as an actress, merely a celebrity in the annals of Hollywood. I don't think I'll try watching the movie again. Certainly not one of Hollywood's best of 1939!

Robert McElwaine 1939 period drama based on Emily Bronte's classic novel which tells the tragic tale of unfortunate lovers Heathcliff (Laurence Olivier) and Cathy (Merle Oberon) who, despite their strong love for one another are forced by social circumstances to forever be apart. Meeting for the first time as children; when Cathy's father (Donald Crisp) brings young abandoned boy to live in their country estate. However; years later after their father has passed away, Cathy's brother (Hugh Williams) who has inherited his father's title forces Heathcliff from their home. Now working as a stable boy, the class divide seems even wider and Cathy marries a wealthy neighbour (David Niven) forcing Heathcliff to leave heartbroken. However, he returns years later a different man given a change in his circumstances, but is it all now too late for he and Cathy to be together?The cold grey image of a lone traveler caught in the snowy weather, traversing the Yorkshire Moor's as he makes his way wearily to the estate of Wuthering heights, immediately captures the grim nature of director William Wyler's melodramatic drama. His relief at finding sanctuary is contrasted starkly by the brusque demeanour of his reluctant host who introduces himself as Heathcliff. It's an effective moment which subtly punctuates the foreboding behind a tale which first impressions would deceptively indicate to be a haunting ghost story. As he later peers out a window in the early hours of the morning, Lockwood (Miles Mander) believe himself to to have seen the ghostly apparition of a woman calling; " "Heathcliff, let me in! I'm out on the moors. It's Cathy!" Deceptive it may be but it serves as the impetus which provokes his distraught host to run in to the snowstorm on hearing of what his startled guest has witnessed, and for devoted housekeeper Ellen (Flora Robson) to recount to Lockwood the tragic story that has led Heathcliff to where he is now. Generally regarded as the definitive cinematic retelling of Emily Bronte's sole novel as an author, it was indeed controversial at the time of it's publication with it's themes of mental and emotional cruelty, none of which has been lost in it's translation from book to screen. It also shone a light on the hypocrisy's of then contemporary, 19th century mores which religious hypocrisy, morality, social classes and gender inequality, although certain aspects of this would have been watered down to appease 1930's sensibilities which were still fundamentally conservative by today's standards. What has not been diminished however is the raw power behind Bronte's work as it was brought effectively to life by director William Wyler, who's later screen credits would include; Roman Holiday and the multi-oscar winning epic; Ben Hur. With Heathcliff you have a bold romantic lead who's melancholic early life would hint that he was destined to be damned forever in his pitiful existence. A forlorn figure who is taken From the streets of Liverpool by Mr. Henshaw who he brings home to his two offspring, the sweet and kindly Cathy and the spirited, rambunctious Hindley, the early seeds of the changing dynamic between the wretched urchin and his faux-siblings. The feelings of an instant bond between Heathcliff and Cathy which is juxtaposed by the bitter resentment harbored by Hindley today's his adoptive brother are keenly realized. It adds a crucial element which drives the plot in adulthood which Bronte artfully composed and Wyler successfully brings to life.; particularly so in adulthood after Mr. Henshaw passes away leaving his genuine son to inherit the mantle of master of Wuthering Heights.The burning resentment that Hindley has for Heathcliff; and inevitable vice versa truly adds a pivotal component to the character of the former street urchin which, as it does Cathy. The burning passion between she and the young man who her father once brought home with him years ago as a child; but there is an undercurrent of uncertainty in the validity of their relationship which Merle Oberon conveys with controlled subtlety. There is however a gloomy, downcast ambience to the backdrop of the Yorkshire Moors where the young lovers where the young lovers run away to on their romantic trysts. It has has an air of foreboding that contrasts the burning desire that each have for one another, as if acting as a portents of things to come. After all, when is all said and done both are deeply flawed characters, and one would dare to say they prove themselves to be thoroughly immoral individuals. Cathy eventually marrying the wealthy Edgar Linton (David Niven), a man of wealth and good breeding with her true feelings for him always at best being regarded as ambiguous at best. As much as she loves him there's an underlining air of snobbery about Cathy which brings in to question the legitimacy of the choice that she has made and cruelly critical over Heathcliff's scruffy appearance, saying; "Look at you, you get worse everyday. Dirty and unkempt, and in rags". Heathcliff on the other hand is a thoroughly embittered figure, frustrated by his imposed station in life, not least of all because of the wedge it drives between he and the woman he adores. It's an attitude that rears it's ugly head in the latter part of the film after his departure from Wuthering Heights following Cathy's marriage. The impact of the choices they make are sorely felt and are magnified 10 fold by the powerful performances by David Niven who brings an air of quiet nobility and dignity to Linton, with Geraldine Fitzgerald equally effective, for reasons I won't go in to as his naive sister Isabella. The rest of the supporting cast are also of the highest calibre delivering performances which are very much commendable. However, the film ultimately belongs to both Oliver and Oberon with the former making for a magnetic screen presence as the roguish Heathcliff, capturing the dual nature of his dark conflicted personality masterfully. The latter is nothing if not a noteworthy foil, with the smoldering passion in her performance has complimented admirably by his own. To it's detriment however, modern audiences might not generally take to the film as others might. It's 1930's melodramatic handling of the source material arguably would not be quite so palatable today as it was nearly eighty years ago. And what should have been a justifiably downbeat climax is somewhat undermined by it's slightly more uplifting final shot. Never the less, William Wyler's rendering of the Bronte's magnum opus is still a predominantly engaging melodrama despite it's shortcomings. It may have lost something in age which won't be appreciated by contemporary audiences but more hardcore admirers of cinema will likely find something within it to savor.

Benedito Dias Rodrigues I have to confess that l expected more from this first and classic novel adaptation,l'd watched the 1992's version and rated 7/10 and hoping to see a strong and powerful early version,but still finding it great but no more than 8/10,the movie don't has a rational line of thinking,didn't explain an abrupt changing of Heathcliff,what's really happened in missing years,Cathy actually has a double personality, in fact he don't know what really want....and have a mystic side,a haunted side of this strange love story as show in the end,l really need to see one more time to make a real statement...it's already worked with others movies....for while 8/10 only!! Resume: First watch: 2017 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8

Coventry I have a couple of confessions to make for starters, actually. The first confession is that I have never read the Emily Brontë novel and the second that this is also only just the very first film adaptation of the legendary story that I watched. Since there isn't a point in reading a book after having seen the film, and since I'm pretty convinced that none of the other hundred or so film versions can surpass this fantastic 1939 version, it will probably remain and one and only acquaintance with "Wuthering Heights". How to describe the events taking place in this immortal story? Well, I believe Charles Bukowski described it best with the title of his own work "Love is a dog from hell"… It's a love story, but an utmost depressing and melancholic one, with loathsome characters as well as gloomy decors and mournful dialogs all around, but simultaneously all this is also exactly why it's MY type of love story! Just like in that other cinematic milestone from the same wondrous year 1939, "Gone with the Wind", this is more tragedy than romance and you certainly don't have to expect an overload of mellifluous situations or a happy-happy-joy-joy denouement. Perfectionist director William Wyler was the ideal man to turn the legendary novel into a milestone motion picture, because even though the British roots are missing and there isn't much attention given to the role of the rural setting, he does provide the film with a strong atmosphere of morbidity. Allegedly the production process of "Wuthering Heights" wasn't a very pleasant time for everyone involved, neither. The cast and crew quickly got fed up with the endless number of takes that the perfectionist director demanded, the director wasn't enthusiast to work for a producer – Samuel Goldwyn – that usually only makes bland movies and, most of all, the star actor Laurence Olivier and star actress Merle Oberon couldn't stand each other. I'm convinced, however, that all these tensions contributed to the fact that "Wuthering Heights" became such a flawless and influential classic. Oberon depicts a despicable character, as Cathy is a selfish and capricious shrew, but she does it wonderfully. And even though Laurence Olivier's Heathcliff is fundamentally a creepy and disturbing psychopath, he's still one of the most desirably male characters in the history of cinema. Just ask Kate Bush