EDITOR’S NOTE: Wuthering Heights was on the CBS Late Movie on April 20, 1973 and April 8, 1974.

American-International Pictures, known for its exploitation films, took a surprising turn when the 1968 adaptation of Romeo and Juliet proved to be a box office hit. This success prompted AIP to venture into the realm of classic romance adaptations, with Wuthering Heights being their next ambitious project.

Curtis Harrington was the announced director, but he made Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? instead.

Robert Fuest — yes, the director of Dr. Phibes and The Devil’s Rain! — would direct. He told the Evening Standard, “We shall show Heathcliff as a man completely fascinated by Catherine’s passion, sexuality, jealousy and cruelty. And the tempestuous Catherine will be seen as a woman hypnotized by Heathcliff’s violence, brutality and sadistic vengefulness.” This interpretation, with its controversial themes, aimed to stay closer to the book than the 1939 movie and saw the story as one about the generation gap that has always existed.

Producer Louis Heyward cut to the chase: “Heathcliff was a bastard and Cathy a real bitch, and that’s how they’ll be in this film.”

Unfortunately, the film did not resonate with either critics or audiences. The harsh reviews and lackluster box office performance led to the cancellation of AIP’s plans for future literary adaptations, including Return to Wuthering Heights, Camille, The House of Seven Gables, and A Tale of Two Cities.

If you read the book, you may know the story. Mr. Earnshaw (Harry Andrews) returns from a trip to the city with Heathcliff, who grows up to be played by Timothy Dalton. Earnshaw’s son Hindley (Julian Glover) detests his adopted brother of sorts, yet the ragamuffin grows to become the companion to Hindley’s sister Catherine (Anna Calder-Marshall). After the Earnshaws die, Heathcliff and Catherine are wild and in love on the moors — you’ve seen them run toward one another even if you don’t know the reference — as Hindley stews in resentment. But then Catherine meets a new love, Edgar (Ian Ogilvy). Heathcliff disappears for years, learning how to be more refined and cruel in the big city and comes back to not only pine for Catherine but to marry Isabel (Hilary Heath).

The significant difference from the book is that Hindley is more sympathetic. And, oh yeah, he gets to kill Heathcliff, who reunites with Catherine when they’re both ghosts. This unexpected twist, along with the controversial themes, forces writer Patrick Tilley (The Legacy) to contend with the ghost of Emily Bronte and the derision of English teachers everywhere.

That said, this movie is a visual feast, with lush cinematography that brings the moors to life. It also introduces the first open discussion that perhaps Heathcliff is the illegitimate son of Mr. Earnshaw, which makes Heathcliff and Catherine half-siblings. That sounds closer to the paperback trash and Italian movies that usually make it on this site, not works of Gothic romance.