Wuthering Heights - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of Wuthering Heights or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to Wuthering Heights

[riley]

"The Screen Guild Theater" broadcast a thirty minute radio adaptation of the movie on February 25, 1946 with Merle Oberon reprising her movie role.

[dustin]

"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a sixty minute radio adaptation of the movie on September 14, 1954 with Geraldine Fitzgerald reprising her movie role.

[violet]

The cast includes three Oscar winners (Laurence Olivier, David Niven and Donald Crisp) and four Oscar nominees (Merle Oberon, Flora Robson, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Cecil Kellaway).

[caroline]

Montreal, Québec-April 6, 1939: "Wuthering Heights" may be shown in Québec Province if certain excisions are made, Arthur Laramee, censor chairman said yesterday. He denied that the film had been formally banned.

[nina]

Samuel Goldwyn claimed that this was his favorite production.

[leo]

David Niven stated that the heather, imported from England and replanted in Thousand Oaks, enjoyed the Californian sunshine to such an extent that it tripled in size and had to be radically cut back before filming could take place.

[janice]

Director William Wyler and Producer Samuel Goldwyn clashed over Merle Oberon's deathbed scene. Because of the somber sadness of it, Goldwyn wanted her to be beautifully gowned and shown in glamorous close-ups. Wyler thought that was ridiculous and kept her in less glamorous long shots as much as possible. When he saw the finished product, Goldwyn told Oberon it was the finest work she had ever done in movies.

[mathew]

Sir Laurence Olivier's first on-set confrontation occurred in a dispute with Merle Oberon. Although they had worked together happily on The Divorce of Lady X (1938), Olivier now resented that Oberon had the role he felt should have gone to Vivien Leigh. In one particularly passionate scene, Oberon became upset that Olivier kept letting spit fly from his mouth and land on her. "Why you amateur little bitch", Olivier responded. "What's a little spit for Chrissake between actors? You bloody little idiot, how dare you speak to me?" Oberon stormed off the set in tears, and Director William Wyler forced Olivier to apologize.

[amber]

Though the book takes place in the late 18th Century, Samuel Goldwyn felt that the fashions of the 1840s looked better so he changed the time period to 1841. The story makes that clear when they begin the film by saying the story took place "a hundred years ago" which would put it around 1839.

[fred]

Although a troubled production, the success of this movie transformed Sir Laurence Olivier into a star.

[bessie]

This movie only depicts sixteen of the novel's thirty-four chapters, and is set in the nineteenth century instead of 1771-1801.

[ken]

This movie came in thirteen days over schedule and more than one hundred thousand dollars over budget.

[kylie]

During the storm sequence, Merle Oberon twisted her foot and with Sir Laurence Olivier suffering from a severe case of athlete's foot, both hobbled for a time.

[javier]

About one thousand genuine heather plants were brought in for close-ups. In the southern California sunshine, the plants grew much taller than they ever would on the moors.

[lynn]

In the final sequence, the spirits of Heathcliff and Cathy are seen walking their favorite pathway. This was added after filming was complete, and because Sir Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon had already moved on to other projects, doubles had to be used.

[carl]

Producer Samuel Goldwyn felt that script was too dark for a romance movie, so he asked several people to do a re-write on the script, including a young John Huston, who said that the script needed no re-write, it was perfect as it was.

[jesus]

David Niven dreaded this movie not only because he was playing a thankless, secondary role, but because he dreaded working with Director William Wyler again. Merle Oberon was uncomfortable working with Niven after their year-long love affair ended in 1936.

[albert]

Featured Geraldine Fitzgerald's only Oscar nominated performance.

[linda]

Contemporary news items noted that Emily Brontë societies worldwide wrote to Producer Samuel Goldwyn and urged him to remain as faithful in detail as possible to the original novel, and protested the use of any one of several replacement titles for the story that were rumored to have been considered. Titles reportedly considered by the Goldwyn sales office were "Gypsy Love", "Fun on the Farm", and "He Died for Her".