1939 – Laurence Olivier
Wuthering Heights
Laurence Olivier did a fantastic job in this movie. The role was emotionally dynamic and had a wildly intense climax. The character of Heathcliff was not particularly a likeable character, but then, he wasn’t supposed to be. He was angry, vengeful, and passionate to a fault, all traits that, as a typical British actor, Olivier was not supposed to display. Case in point, look at the roll David Niven portrayed in this movie. But Olivier broke that mold in an incredibly powerful way.
Heathcliff was so madly in love with Cathy that his every action in life was with the goal of either being with her, or being near her. Even his loveless marriage to her husband’s sister was done with the goal of being close to her in mind. And when she was dying, he attended her on her deathbed, supplanting her husband’s rightful place at her side, he sobbed over her dead body. And in that climactic scene, he begs her ghost to haunt him and drive him mad until he could join her in death.
That was where Olivier showed those raw emotions that, as a Brit, he was not supposed to show. But he knew that the part demanded the sobbing, the deep emotional trauma, the reckless giving in to his passions. Olivier really delivered. And I think that maybe his performance seemed just a little more over-the-top than it otherwise might have been, because the incredibly subdued David Niven was standing right next to him.
But his performance was more than that one final scene. The role required a distinct difference of portrayal from the beginning of the movie to the end. Heathcliff came from humble peasant beginnings, but later became an angry and vengeful man of wealth and power. Olivier played both facets of the character well, one with a mix of humility and fire, the other with aggression and obsession. Though he was only thirty-two when he played the part of Heathcliff, Olivier did a great job with the complex character. He seemed to carry himself like an older actor with more experience. There was a confidence about him that was unmistakable. In fact, had I been one of the Academy voters, I would have voted for him instead of Robert Donat. Just sayin’.