Each character as a model of self-destruction While Europe was steadily rolling towards the outbreak of World War II on another continent, cinema progressed in huge strides. It was at that time that cinema began to be called and to agree with this, that a new trend in art appeared. However, in the United States (you perfectly understood which continent and which country was meant), as I happened to learn, at that time there were no commercial orders, people dedicated to this art, of course, enjoyed great freedom, but finances were allocated from the state budget. In view of this, the script for film production was carefully chosen in order to justify the investment. To ignore the classics from the English poetess and writer Emily Bronte they definitely could not. There were already silent pictures, but in the era of the development of sound cinema it became necessary to re-screen the immortal novel.
Moreover, at that time, the legendary actor Lawrence Olivier said about himself in full voice. His name in the circles of critics became a household name, for example, Roger Ebert called Lesley Nielsen "Lawrence Olivier comedy cinema". The expression, of course, has its subtext, but the very tribute of Olivier in the review of the picture has its meaning. This actor flawlessly got used to the image of such an ambiguous figure as Heathcliffe. The gypsy, who was sheltered by a devout man, introduced his blood children, but he did not know that since then his children should not wait for a quiet life. Lawrence Olivier practically does not play with the muscles of the face, he only by the expression of bottomless eyes perfectly conveys the whole range of emotions of his character. And I must say that the multi-layer character of Heathcliffe not everyone can play this way. There you could read everything without even words: from serene love to a destructive thirst for revenge. Here Lawrence Olivier is half-turned, he lowered his eyes, which means he either does not want to say or thinks what to say, carefully weighs, and then raises his eyes and everything - it is clear what feelings overtake him, exactly overwhelm him.
Black and white cinema has its own elegance, to which color cinema is quite far, if not to say that it is impossible to comprehend at all: in black and white cinema, people’s emotions come to the fore, so a colorful picture is not to bewitch. Therefore, acting skills are at the forefront. If everything is clear with Lawrence Olivier - a person was born and lived in his time and in his hour and found his career, then other actors left questions. The role of Catherine Earnshaw, the lover of Heathcliffe and his half-sister, was performed by Merly Oberon. In fact, a very beautiful girl, but in the film for some reason she was made an unsightly duckling. Her character turned out to be a little exaggerated: she tirelessly demonstrates an unrestrained passion for the hero Olivier, but at the same time rarely expresses an outright fear of Heathcliffe, and these two radical feelings are the basis for Catherine Earnshaw. That’s why, probably, with all the combination of nominations for “Oscar” her candidacy was not there.
And three more personalities, three characters give both the work and the film adaptation a special aura. Two of them are men. Honestly, I admit that the nasty, unpleasant, faint-hearted blood brother named Hindley somehow attracts. I am not saying that we are kindred in nature, rather I am attracted by his saturation and moment of intrigue - as much as a person can fall. In this film, he was played by Hugh Williams. Not to say that the authors of the adaptation of the novel gave him the leading role of a secondary character, and therefore it was not enough, there was just a range of emotions. But for him perfectly played his role David Niven, who played her husband Katherine. Serious and desperate, but at the same time a gentleman from the brain to the bones is an impeccable role. And the third person is Isabella Linton, a piece in the game of revenge on the chessboard. On the highest note, she was played by Geraldine Fitzgerald (for which she received an Oscar nomination). She even with infrequent appearances eclipsed the main character. The range is not great - there is no need for an abyss of emotions, but even here she managed to show the abyss of love for a person who does not love her.
Rarely anyone will watch a tape that is more than seventy years old, but even under this condition I advise you to watch it, it will touch all the fibers of the soul, even if you do not read the novel. Don’t be afraid that it is black and white, be simpler and with this tape you will become internally richer on a cinematic scale.
8 out of 10