MovieChat Forums > Wuthering Heights (1939) Discussion > David Niven

David Niven

posted 14 years ago by rgcarterx1
7 replies | jump to latest

I'm surprised to find that nobody seems to have mentioned anything about David Niven in this movie. I agree with most of the posts about Geraldine Fitzgerald . . . I think she is the real tragedy in this movie and she was absolutely great in the part. But about five years ago I told my older brother that I believed David Niven should have won an Oscar for best supporting actor in this movie. I don't think my brother is a fan of WH, but he said something like "Well, you could expect anything David Niven is in to be good". I'm a David Niven fan, I like him, but he was so effective in this part that I COULDN'T STAND HIM in this movie. One of my favorite scenes was when Cathy, in one of the moments when she is turned off on him, says "I can't stand your soft, white hands touching me". I thought "Oh, good, Cathy!" If Niven had over-played the part, I don't think it would have worked. But even knowing that in reality he was probably more of a rogue than Olivier was and the fact that I'm one of his fans, didn't change my perception of "Edgar" in this movie.

[–] rachel-570 14 years ago

Niven is absolutely amazing in any role I've ever seen him in. I'm glad someone started a thread about him. Have you seen The Bishop's Wife and Enchantment? Great films!

[–] rgcarterx1 14 years ago

I have seen The Bishop's Wife several times, but have never seen Enchantment. I will try to make it a point to see it when I get the chance. I have seen many David Niven movies going back into the 1930's and I don't recall any garbage movies. I recently saw Guns of Navarone, which I saw when it first came out in 1961, and he was very good in that one, also.

[–] ath-11 13 years ago

Agreed - watching the film tonight (right now!) on TCM and he is definitely an overlooked gem here. He plays all his scenes to perfection - not too much, not too little, and he nails every one.

- - -

"...and that, my liege, is how we know the Earth to be banana shaped."

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] hachmom-1 11 years ago

I too think he gives a marvelous performance, but he wouldn't have had a chance of winning in 1939. That's the problem with giving a great performance during the best year in the history of movies.

It is not our abilities that show who we truly are...it is our choices

[–] hka-3 11 years ago

plays all his scenes to perfection - not too much, not too little, and he nails every one.

Very well said. This is actually the first time I've liked watching one of his characters.

[–] ClassicMovieholic 11 years ago

I agree about the performance, but not about the character. I found David Niven in the movie to be strong, affectionate and responsible...by far a better companion and a healthier choice for Cathy than the physically and emotionally abusive Heathcliff. I even considered him to be the protagonist watching it as a young teen before having read the book. The character in the book was dealt with a bit differently...a whiney, coddled milksop whom Cathy can't respect. Yet he eventually grows into a good and indulgent man whose futile fight to protect his family from Heathcliff is heroic.

I agree about Geraldine Fitzgerald too. I think these two were actually the best performances in the movie. Then again, Isabella Linton is my favorite character in the book. She is tragic in the book, but also heroic. A battered woman, she nonetheless comes out a fighter. She absconds with she and Heathcliff's child, and goes into hiding. She and the child are ultimately destroyed, but her fight for her child and for survival is the truest moment of courage in the book.