Wuthering Heights (1962 TV Movie) User Reviews

Powerful performances in BBC classic

[Igenlode Wordsmith · 8/10 · 12 April 2007]

This adaptation was clearly produced for BBC television on an absolute shoestring, with no outdoors shots at all; judging by the number of horses that are heard arriving just off-screen, it must have been quite a stretch for the budget to produce the single shaggy beast that Heathcliff grooms inside the stable! But the production proves, as so often in the BBC's history, that it's talent that counts.

The script, courtesy of the vastly capable Nigel Kneale (the same of "Quatermass" fame), conveys the story effectively and succinctly, despite discarding most of the second half of the book. The actors are more than equal to their parts, in particular the leading couple and Patrick Troughton as a memorable Hindley, and the sound effects department do their level best to evoke a landscape always just off-screen or around the corner. It's powerful stuff: I never cared for Emily Bronte, but I was moved by this.

I believe this broadcast was a one-off repeat of the 1953 "Sunday Night Theatre" adaptation.

Almost forgotten Bronte adaptation lingers in my memory

[mlraymond · 9/10 · 23 December 2007]

I 've been trying for years to track this one down. It was a long time ago, and I had thought it was made for the Hallmark Hall of Fame series. I had believed it to have been shown on American television about 1966 or 1967, possibly a later presentation of the 1962 original British showing.

Now I wonder if it might have been shown much earlier than I remembered. All I can clearly recall is that Claire Bloom played Cathy, and it was very affecting. Does anyone out there have any further information on this production? I remember it looking like a play and being reasonably faithful to the book. I especially recall the scene where young Cathy and Heathcliff are spying on the wealthy neighbors' party and Cathy is bitten by the rich peoples' dogs, and spends time recuperating with them, and acquiring some social snobbery as a result. I also remember the final scene, with the lovers' graves side by side. It seemed terribly sad and beautiful to me until it was surpassed by the classic Thirties film version with Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon, which I did not see until many years later.

Not only some of the best acting ever, but also one of the most truthful adaptations of a novel

[dhanishta · 10/10 · 30 May 2009]

This film left me spell-bound! All of the actors were magnificent in expressing several emotions at once! Even Heathcliff's worst roughness becomes comprehensible by the pain he suffers from seeing his love slip away - all expressed in the eyes, tone of voice, face, even posture - Keith Michell! Cathy is not a fickle young woman as in so many other adaptations of the novel, but someone desperately torn between her own wishes as if she were a victim to them rather than to the circumstances. Claire Bloom really is Cathy as I imagined her when I read the novel. Great tragic acting on the part of the two leads! What a pity that this treasure can only be seen at the BFI (British Film Institute) in London (I'm grateful for that, though). If anyone interested would like to promote the release of this movie on DVD, perhaps emailing [e-mail] might help.

Nigel Kneale's adaptation of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights.

[morrison-dylan-fan · 10/10 · 18 January 2022]

Taking a look at the listings for the HOME cinema in Manchester,I was interested to find that they were hosting a season dedicated to the works of Nigel Kneale. Finding Kneale's take on The Woman in Black (1989-also reviewed) to be chilling,and Luis Bunuel's 1954 adaptation of Wuthering Heights (also reviewed) to be spellbinding,I was thrilled to find HOME screening an extremely obscure version of Wuthering written by Kneale, leading to my expectations reaching new heights.

View on the film:

Sprinting through Emily Bronte's classic novel in 90 minutes, Nigel Kneale's adaptation leans on the Gothic Horror element of the romance with a poetic quality, with Kneale's dialogue casting a doom-laden romantic mood over Cathy and Heathcliff's passionate love,which is struck across the rocks by the venomous dialogue spat out by Hindley.

Reuniting with Kneale after the Quatermass TV series and the 1954 BBC TV movie version of Nineteen Eighty-Four, director Rudolph Cartier takes on the shoestring budget with an impressive level of success, thanks to Cartier closely working with the sound department to layer over the background the noise of whistling winds and galloping horses, which along with tilted upwards shots towards Cathy and Heathcliff embracing against a cliff-edge, brews a rich Gothic atmosphere.

Hating the very smell of Heathcliff and Cathy together, Patrick Troughton gives a mesmerizing performance as Hindley, hitting Heathcliff with a fire and brimstone dialogue delivery, whilst David McCallum reflects a brittle tenderness as Edgar, whilst he looks across the wuthering heights.

A compelling dramatic and memorable viewing...

[bpfre · 10/10 · 8 September 2008]

As per the single commentary about this production, I can only add that I have read the book at 16, seen the BBC production on PBS the summer after, and have never forgotten the impact. The characterization of this single production has been the mark of excellence that every other production (one exception is the BBC 1967 version with Ian McShane) has never elsewhere achieved. I have been searching for this particular reference ever since. After all this time, I still visualize the scene with Cathy and Nelly in the kitchen, with Heathcliff hidden, listening to Cathy's opinion of him, just before he runs off. This is a scene dramatically froth with emotion portrayed by the actors despite the limited 'outside environment' and sound effects, still rendering convincing portrayals and conveying Bronte's essential moody, dark characterizations. Rather than relying on 'scenic views', it is totally carried by the actors ability to 'act'. With one exception, no other production has come close. I truly hope that this will soon be available in DVD format. It would be a literary shame were it not, since it brings Emily Bronte's characters to life with all the emotional passion that the author intended.