Before Margot Robbie's Wuthering Heights, Stream Laurence Olivier's 1939 Version For Free

William Wyler's 1939 adaptation of Emily Brontë's "Wuthering Heights" can openly claim use of the adjective "sweeping." It's a sweeping romance, buoyed largely by Laurence Olivier's performance as the handsome, sweaty, belligerent stableboy Heathcliff. One can really sense the romantic angst in the film as Heathcliff constantly tries to connect with his beloved Catherine (Merle Oberon) and how angry he becomes when he is spurned. (Mirroring his character, Laurence Olivier wasn't very polite on set.) 

"Wuthering Heights" chronicles the stalled romance between Heathcliff and Catherine and how notions of class interfered in their potential relationship. Heathcliff was raised alongside Cathy but was never accepted by Cathy's angry brother, Hindley (played by Hugh Williams in the 1939 film). Heathcliff and Cathy have a youthful romance and sweep through the moors with big feelings in their hearts. Cathy, however, marries a richer man named Edgar (David Niven), rejecting Heathcliff because she believes that marrying a stableboy would "degrade" her. Heathcliff becomes rich as a matter of wooing her back, but she still spurns him. 

Many film adaptations of "Wuthering Heights," including Wyler's version, omit the second half of Brontë's novel, which involves Cathy's daughter and Heathcliff's son falling in love, intergenerationally patching up a romantic injustice. Wyler's film instead ends with the ghosts of the dead Heathcliff and the dead Cathy haunting the moors where they once enjoyed their most intense love. 

Olivier is marvelous, perhaps standing as the gold standard for all Heathcliffs to come after him. The film is currently available for free on YouTube. Here's why you should watch it before Emerald Fennell's "Wuthering Heights" hits theaters on February 13, 2026. 

If you were writing a book report on "Wuthering Heights," and you watched Wyler's film instead, you'd get a bad grade. A lot of time-shifting and narrative alteration was employed to make it more cinematic. But that doesn't mean it's not a great movie. It captures certain literary mannerisms that lend the film a note of melodramatic power. It was such a good movie that it became the high-water mark for all future "Wuthering Heights" adaptations. 

And there have been plenty of adaptations. The BBC adapted it for television in 1948, and CBS did a version with Charlton Heston in 1950. The BBC came back in 1953 and re-did the story with Richard Todd and Yvonne Mitchell. CBS, not to be outdone, also remade "Wuthering" in 1958 with Rosemary Harris and Richard Burton. There have been adaptations in 1959, 1962, 1970, 1992, 1998, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, and 2022. Bafflingly, the 2003 and 2015 renditions were teen adaptations, with the 2003 version put out by MTV. The 2015 version was called "Wuthering High School." And those are just the English-language adaptations. There were many international versions of "Wuthering Heights" as well, not to mention a dozen radio adaptations. And, of course, there was a semaphore version on "Monty Python's Flying Circus." Brontë's novel is well-worn territory.

But through it all, Wyler's version remains one of the most famous and well-regarded, and the fact that it's available for free on YouTube makes it easily accessible for newcomers. Time will tell if Emerald Fennell's version will become as popular, or if her "Wuthering Heights" will become a box office hit. This time around Margot Robbie will be playing Cathy, while the handsome Jacob Elordi will be playing Heathcliff. 

William Wyler's "Wuthering Heights" was highly celebrated by the Academy, and was nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture (back when the category was called "Outstanding Production"), Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Screenplay. The only Oscar it won, however, was Best Black and White Cinematography, earned by the legendary Gregg Toland. 

It's worth remembering, though, that 1939 was a crackerjack year for movies, and "Wuthering Heights" was up against heavy-hitters like "The Wizard of Oz," "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," "Stagecoach," "Of Mice and Men," and "Goodbye, Mr. Chips." Oh yes, and all of those films lost to the supra-blockbuster "Gone with the Wind," which is still the highest-grossing movie of all time, when adjusted for inflation. "Gone with the Wind" was nominated for 13 Oscars and won eight. It was also granted two special Oscars, one for its use of color and another for Technical Achievement. These days, of course, "Gone with the Wind" is a bit of a tough watch. 

Really, a mere sweeping romance like "Wuthering Heights" didn't stand a chance in such an environment. Indeed, "Wuthering Heights," while a pretty great film, is often listed low on lists of the greatest films of 1939, merely because competition was so stiff. "The Wizard of Oz" is one of the most famous movies of all time, and "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" is one of the most important American stories ever written. 

But, thanks to YouTube, you can now see the first ever feature film adaptation of Cathy and Heathcliff's sweeping love story. And you can swoon looking at the young Laurence Olivier's handsome face. Good God, is he ever hot in that movie.