Wuthering Heights (1953 TV play)
| Wuthering Heights | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Radio Times cover with Yvonne Mitchell & Richard Todd | |
| Genre | Period drama |
| Based on | |
| Written by | Nigel Kneale (adaptation) |
| Directed by | Rudolph Cartier |
| Starring | Richard Todd Yvonne Mitchell |
| Theme music composer | Alfred Dunning |
| Composer | Richard Addinsell |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producer | Rudolph Cartier |
| Running time | 100 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC tv |
| Release | 6 December 1953 |
Wuthering Heights is a 1953 British TV production of Emily Brontë's classic 1847 novel.[1] It was made because Richard Todd, then at the height of his film popularity, expressed interest in playing Heathcliff and the BBC arranged for an adaptation to be made.[2] Todd wrote in his memoirs that he was approached to make it by Michael Barry and Rudolph Cartier. He was making a French film The Bed at the time. Todd said the production was "to break new ground: far from being static with few camera angles, we had over 70 different set-ups to contend with and several cameras to shoot them."[3]
The production was very popular, although no recordings are thought to have survived.[4] Kneale's script was remade on television in Australia in 1959.[5][6]
Plot summary
Heathcliff, an orphan taken in by the Earnshaw family, grows up alongside Catherine Earnshaw and forms a deep bond with her. Mistreated by Catherine's brother Hindley after their father's death, Heathcliff leaves Wuthering Heights when Catherine chooses to marry the wealthier Edgar Linton instead. He returns some years later, now a man of means, and settles at Wuthering Heights as its master. To spite Catherine, he marries Edgar's sister Isabella.[7]
Cast
- Richard Todd as Heathcliff
- Yvonne Mitchell as Cathy
- William Devlin as Lockwood
- Sydney Bromley as Joseph
- Rene Ray as Isabella (as René Ray)
- Jane Henderson as Ellen
- Robert Brown as Hindley Earnshaw
- Peter Bryant as Edgar Linton
- John Kidd as Dr. Kenneth
References
- ↑ "Wuthering Heights". 6 December 1953. p. 14. Archived from the original on 1 June 2021 – via BBC Genome.
- ↑ Obituary for Richard Todd, The Telegraph accessed 18 December 2013
- ↑ Todd, Richard (1989). In camera : an autobiography continued. Hutchinson. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-09-173534-0.
- ↑ "BFI Screenonline: Wuthering Heights (1962)". www.screenonline.org.uk.
- ↑ "Bronte classic on TV". The Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. 11 July 1962. p. 37 Supplement: Television. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
- ↑ Vagg, Stephen (13 February 2026). "Forgotten Australian Television Plays: Wuthering Heights (1959)". Filmink. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
- ↑ "Forgotten Australian Television Plays: Wuthering Heights (1959)". FilmInk. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
External links