Movie Review : Wuthering Heights (1939)

General Information

Title / Original Title: Wuthering Heights

Director: William Wyler

Country and Year of Production: USA, 1939

Running Time: 104 minutes (approx. 1 hour and 44 minutes)

Main Cast:

Laurence Olivier: Heathcliff

Merle Oberon: Catherine "Cathy" Earnshaw

David Niven: Edgar Linton

Flora Robson: Ellen "Nelly" Dean

Geraldine Fitzgerald: Isabella Linton

Hugh Williams: Hindley Earnshaw.

Genre

Drama

Romance

The Plot

General Theme of the Film: An obsessive, tragic, and destructive love that defies social conventions and death itself, intertwined with themes of revenge and social advancement.

Initial Situation: The story opens in the desolate and stormy moors of Yorkshire (England) towards the end of the 18th century. The traveler Mr. Lockwood seeks shelter during a storm at the estate of Wuthering Heights, where he meets a cold and dark master of the house, Heathcliff. After experiencing a terrifying encounter (the ghost of a woman calling from the windowpane), Lockwood asks the housekeeper Nelly Dean for an explanation, and she begins telling the story of the house.

Development: Years earlier, the old Mr. Earnshaw brings home a stray orphan named Heathcliff. An indivisible and deep bond grows between Heathcliff and Earnshaw's daughter, Catherine (Cathy). However, after their father's death, Cathy's brother Hindley treats Heathcliff like a servant, constantly humiliating him. Although Cathy loves Heathcliff, she desires a life of luxury and elegance, accepting a marriage proposal from her wealthy and refined neighbor Edgar Linton (Thrushcross Grange). Devastated by Cathy's rejection, Heathcliff vanishes, only to return years later rich and powerful, determined to seek revenge on both Hindley and the Linton family. To inflict pain on Cathy and Edgar, Heathcliff marries Edgar's sister Isabella, despite having no love for her.

Conclusion: Cathy, consumed by grief, jealousy, and illness, becomes terminally ill. Heathcliff rushes to her bedside for one last dramatic embrace, declaring his immortal love and offering forgiveness. Cathy dies in his arms. In the end, the narrative returns to the present: Heathcliff dies on the moor while searching for her ghost, and Nelly reveals that the spirits of Cathy and Heathcliff have been seen walking together, finally united for eternity.

Time elapsed: Approximately 20–25 years between the main characters' childhood and their death.

Narrative Techniques

The events are narrated:

with alternating timelines (present-day framing story with the main plot told through a long flashback by Nelly)

The story's duration:

spans a long period (years)

Characters

Protagonist

Heathcliff

Biographical and Physical Data: A stray orphan of unknown origins, dark-complexioned and dark-haired, handsome, with an intense and tormented gaze.

Social and Cultural Status: Begins as a poor orphan and an abused servant under Hindley; later returns as a wealthy and powerful landowner.

Psychological Characteristics: Proud, vengeful, passionate, and tormented. His love for Cathy is absolute, almost demonic and supernatural. When hurt, he channels his pain into relentless vengeance against everyone who humiliated him.

Antagonist / Romantic Counterpart

Catherine "Cathy" Earnshaw

Biographical and Physical Data: A young woman of the moors, strikingly beautiful, elegant, with dark hair and expressive features.

Social Status: Belongs to the minor landed gentry; becomes a refined, wealthy lady upon marrying Edgar Linton.

Psychological Characteristics: Capricious, vain, and torn between her wild, free nature (bound to Heathcliff and the moors) and her ambition for a comfortable, aristocratic social standing.

Other Main Characters

Edgar Linton (Romantic rival)

Biographical and Physical Data: A young nobleman with gentle and refined features.

Social Status: Wealthy owner of the luxurious Thrushcross Grange estate.

Psychological Characteristics: Well-mannered, caring, gentle, and calm, but weak compared to the overwhelming passion between Heathcliff and Cathy.

Ellen "Nelly" Dean 

Social Status: Family housekeeper.

Psychological Characteristics: Wise, loyal, and compassionate; serves as the internal narrator observing events and striving to protect both Cathy and Heathcliff.

Cinematic Language.

The narrator is:

internal (Nelly Dean tells the story to Mr. Lockwood)

The editing pace is:

 alternating (shifts between present and past, and contrasts the calmness of Thrushcross Grange with the drama of Wuthering Heights)

Special effects:

are absent (aside from traditional period stage effects for fog, snow, and windstorms)

The soundtrack:

is original (composed by the acclaimed master Alfred Newman)

Filming locations:

alternate between indoor and outdoor spaces (suffocating interiors of Wuthering Heights vs. vast, wind-swept moors)

Message And Themes Of The Film

What themes does this film address?

Absolute and destructive love: A passion that transcends reason, social norms, and even death.

Class conflict and social conventions: The choice between genuine but impoverished passion (Heathcliff) and a marriage of material and social convenience (Edgar).

Revenge and obsession: How humiliation and heartbreak can poison the human soul.

Connection to nature: The moor as a symbol of freedom and untamed authenticity.

What message does the film convey? The film shows that suppressing one's true nature and abandoning true love for social or material expectations leads to tragedy and self-destruction. It also suggests that certain spiritual bonds are so profound that they transcend mortal life, finding resolution only in eternity.

Fidelity To The Novel And Its Differences

Is the film faithful to the novel?

Only partially. The 1939 film covers only about half of Emily Brontë's novel (the first 16 out of 34 chapters). Furthermore, Hollywood softened the dark, cruel, and toxic aspects of the original story to transform it into a grand, classic story of romantic and tragic love.

Key differences between the film and the book:

Cutting the second generation:

In the book: The story continues for another 18 chapters after Cathy's death. It recounts the lives of the next generation's children: young Cathy (daughter of Cathy and Edgar), Linton (son of Heathcliff and Isabella), and Hareton (son of Hindley). Heathcliff torments and manipulates this new generation until his own death.

In the film: The second generation is completely eliminated. The narrative ends with the death of the first Catherine and the subsequent death of Heathcliff.

Heathcliff's character and the tone of the story:

In the book: Heathcliff is an extremely cruel, brutal, sociopathic, and almost demonic character who physically and psychologically abuses Isabella, his son Linton, and Hareton.

In the film: Laurence Olivier plays a much more romantic, charming, and tormented Heathcliff (following the classic model of the "Byronic hero"), making the character much more likely to elicit sympathy from the audience.

Hindley Earnshaw's fate:

In the book: Hindley dies a few months after Catherine due to alcoholism, and Heathcliff takes ownership of Wuthering Heights from him.

In the film: Hindley survives until the end and is the one who fatally shoots Heathcliff while he is searching for Cathy's ghost on the moor.

The ending and spiritual tone:

In the book: The ending is ambiguous and melancholic; there is only a local peasant's allusion to sightings of Cathy's and Heathcliff's ghosts.

In the film: The visual scene of Cathy and Heathcliff's ghostly figures walking together happily toward Penistone Crag is explicitly shown, emphasizing the triumph of eternal love beyond death.