131. Wuthering Heights (1939)

Running Time: 103 minutes
Directed By: William Wyler
Written By: Charles MacArthur, from novel by Emily Bronte
Main Cast: Laurence Olivier, Merle Oberon, David Niven, Flora Robson, Donald Crisp

GOODBYE THIRTIES...

We wrap up the 1930s with "Wuthering Heights", a love story for the ages, which sports some classic performances by Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon.

The film begins with a lone man named Lockwood, traveling on a snowy night and seeking refuge at Wuthering Heights, a lavish estate. Upon being granted entry into the estate, he is shown hospitality, from the hostile master, Heathcliff. While sleeping in the room that he's been lent for the night, he hears the window making racket. When he gets up to pull the shutter closed, he sees the figure of a woman and cries out in the night, bringing Heathcliff into his room. Heathcliff rushes to the window and begins to cry out the name "Cathy". He goes downstairs, rushing out into the cold. Once Heathcliff leaves, Lockwood begins to inquire about what has just happened and the housemaid Ellen, begins to tell him a tale.

The tale begins, when Mr. Earnshaw arrives home from town one day, accompanied by a child. The child is dirty and rambunctious, yet orphaned. Earnshaw, being the generous man that he is, tells his staff at Wuthering Heights that they'll be taking the kid in and giving him a place to stay for a little while. His own children are a bit perplexed by the presence of the boy. His daughter Catherine, however, becomes fast friend's with the new boy, who's name is Heathcliff. The son of the pack, Joseph, doesn't like the boy at all and resorts to scorning him, by throwing rocks at him, jealous of the attention that Mr. Earnshaw is paying him. Atop a hill Cathy and Heathcliff make a pact to be friends forever and christin a large rock on the side of The Moors, to be their "castle". Some years later when Mr. Earnshaw passes away, Jospeh takes over control of the estate and reduces Heathcliff to a stable boy, belittling him every chance he gets. Despite the love that they share, Heathcliff and Cathy can't seem to get past the class barrier that stands between them and Cathy winds up married to a neighbor, Edgar Linton (Niven). Heathcliff disappears for a while, going abroad to the United States. When he returns he's a rich man and Cathy has nearly forgotten all about him, living happily with Edgar.

While I wasn't totally crazy about "Wuthering Heights", it was still a classy love story, with a high amount of drama, romance and emotion. Laurence Olivier would go on to become a much better actor, as it seems here he was still honing his skills. Although, I really had no complaints with the rest of the cast, as Merle Oberman was also a pretty good, little actress and very enjoyable to watch, as she shifted her emotions between Heathcliff and Edgar. The one problem I had with the story, was that the romance between Heathcliff and Cathy wasn't emphasized enough. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's not hard to see that these two characters are in love with each other, but despite a few scenes atop their "castle", there's really no screen time, with high amounts of romantic dialogue, between the two. The climax is awesome and the final scene in the film is a marvelous sight.

RATING: 6/10 Well that just about wraps up the 30's, and not a terrible note to go out on either.

NEXT UP: His Girl Friday...but first a short break...More on that to come later on, in an update post.

March 6, 2010 4:14pm