Watch Wuthering Heights

This 1939 version is one of the earliest screen adaptations of Emily Bronte's epic novel. It stars Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier as star-crossed lovers Cathy and Heathcliff, whose intense, obsessive love for one another endures despite their tragic lives. They meet as children when Cathy's father brings the orphaned Heathcliff home with him from a business trip one day. They are raised as siblings, but the two soon develop a deeper, more intimate bond. Cathy's brother Hindley despises him, however. Jealous of his father's preference for Heathcliff, Hindley tortures him mercilessly. When their father dies, Hindley inherits his estate and uses the opportunity to further his vendetta by throwing Heathcliff out of the house and forcing him to work like a common servant.

When Cathy meets the wealthy Edgar Linton however, her relationship with Heathcliff becomes strained. Despite her deep love for Heathcliff, Cathy accepts Edgar's marriage proposal to further her social standing. Upon hearing the news, Heathcliff runs away. Thinking Heathcliff gone forever, a devastated Cathy marries Linton anyway. But Heathcliff returns three years later, now a wealthy, rage-filled man who is obsessed with using his fortune to exact his revenge on all those who hurt him.