Wuthering Heights (1978 TV serial)

Wuthering Heights is a 1978 British film adaptation of Emily Brontë's 1847 novel Wuthering Heights, starring Ken Hutchison, Kay Adshead, Pat Heywood, and John Duttine,^[1] originally broadcast on BBC Two as a 5-part miniseries, beginning 24 September 1978.^[2] Location filming took place on the Yorkshire Moors.^[3][4][5][6] This BBC version is regarded as being the one most faithful to the original novel because it does not end with Cathy's death but continues into the next generation, with Heathcliff seeking revenge against those he felt had wronged him.^[7]

Wuthering Heights
Based on	Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Written by	Hugh Leonard David Snodin
Directed by	Peter Hammond
Starring	Ken Hutchison Kay Adshead
Composer	Carl Davis
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	5
Production
Producer	Jonathan Powell
Running time	60 minutes (per episode)
Original release
Network	BBC Two
Release	24 September (1978-09-24) – 22 October 1978 (1978-10-22)

Plot summary

Cast

• Ken Hutchison as Heathcliff
  • Dale Tarry as Heathcliff (as child)
• Kay Adshead as Cathy Earnshaw
  • Maria Swailes as Cathy (as child)
• Brian Wilde as Joseph
• Pat Heywood as Ellen Dean
• John Duttine as Hindley
  • Mitchell Varnam as Hindley (as child)
• Maggie Wilkinson as Frances
• Dennis Burgess as Mr Linton
• Wendy Williams as Mrs Linton
• Richard Kay as Lockwood
• John Collin as Mr Earnshaw
• Patricia Healey as Mrs Earnshaw
• Judith Byfield as Servant Girl
• John Golightly as Dr Kenneth
• David Robb as Edgar
  • Grant Bardsley as Edgar (as child)
• Paul Dawkins as Reverend Graham
• Caroline Langrishe as Isabella
  • Julia Stark as Isabella (as child)
• Norman Rutherford as Mr Green
• Barbara Keogh as Zillah
• Cathryn Harrison as Catherine Linton
• David Wilkinson as Hareton
  • Elliot Moss and Simon Massey as Hareton (as child)
• Andrew Burleigh as Linton
• Kate David as Mary
• Barry Hart as Robert
• Charles Turner as Sexton
• Richard Usher as Small Boy

Critical reception

Allmovie wrote, "Irish playwright Hugh Leonard handles the adaptation, deftly juggling the many characters and subplots without the slightest sense of strain";^[7] and the BFI described the adaptation as "embracing the hysteria and savagery of its source novel."^[5] However, in a contemporary review Clive James called it "[t]he latest but not the best of the Beeb's long line of classic serials", and "the blithering pits".^[8]