Emily Brontë's 1847 novel, Wuthering Heights, was adapted to film in 1939 by William Wyler. Unfortunately, Wyler's film version loses the essence of the original. Wuthering Heights can be enjoyed as a romantic film thanks to this film version.
Brontë's novel is not intended to be a romantic story. The novel is supposed to be about how an upper-class family falls apart and the hardships that ensue. As a romantic tale, starring Laurence Olivier as a toned-down Heathcliff and Merle Oberon as the gentrified Catherine, the story loses the essence of Brontë's novel.
Why would a film that is supposed to be based on a novel completely change the meaning or moral behind the story? It is as if the film makers were afraid of creating a box office failure. In my opinion, this book/film combination is one of the worst I have encountered yet and should not be classified as a book/film combination.