A V Bramble's Wuthering Heights

In 1920, the Ideal Film Company, looking to find British stories to compete against the influx of American movies, chose Emily Brontë’s dark and disturbing romance, Wuthering Heights, as its next production. The director, Albert Bramble, was determined to shoot at authentic locations and enlisted the help of local school teacher and a founder member of the Brontë Society, Jonas Bradley, who gave Bramble a guided tour of the area. Together, they found locations for the shoot: Ponden Hall, thought to be the model for Thrushcross Grange in the novel, was in a state of disrepair and so Bradley and Bramble turned to Kildwick Hall, a 17th century mansion nine miles from Haworth. The pair also chose to film at the Old Hall in Haworth (as Wuthering Heights itself), and East Riddlesden Hall in Keighley. Cold Knowle in Stanbury was used for exterior shots, where Bramble made use of the nearby Brontë Waterfall. 

Having found his locations, Bramble brought the cast and crew to Haworth in April 1920. Their arrival caused much excitement in the village as crowds turned out to see the actors, who were being driven around in a blue charabanc nicknamed the Charlotte Brontë. 

The shoot was not an easy one thanks to the Yorkshire weather. 

“Rehearsing on violet-bedded slopes with larks singing high up in the blue sky above, and the rushing stream breaking over the stones below, may be considered an ideal picture, but Yorkshire weather is not always friendly, and the sun is a shy bird. Long tramps over untrodden ways to find delectable spots, mishaps of various kinds, and tedious, tiring rehearsals with little time for meals – that is the truer picture of the film artiste’s life.” (Sheffield Daily Independent, May 19th 1920)

Bramble completed his film, and it was released later that year to much acclaim. Bioscope magazine called it “a real triumph of film art” while the Manchester Guardian wrote: “In many ways it is as fine a production as any that this country has achieved.” It was also popular with audiences. In November, for example, Wuthering Heights played to packed houses at The Palace cinema in Keighley where the local paper announced, “Never has the coming of a picture been so eagerly anticipated.” The film ran for six days there, twice the length of the average run. 

However, no known prints of the film survive. So, after all that, what happened to it? 

Many films of the period are now lost, often because they were shot on nitrate film which was not only flammable but also likely to degrade. After its run in cinemas, prints might have been stored away, forgotten about, and simply disintegrated – or spontaneously combusted! On the other hand, it’s not impossible that sitting in cans somewhere (a garage? A loft?) are five reels that make up the ninety or so minutes of Wuthering Heights, just waiting to be rediscovered. 

(Image courtesy of Brontë Parsonage Museum, Haworth.)