I love the early teleplays and have seen a few dozen lately. It's hard to imagine all the work that went into presenting a play LIVE--but it was done on "Studio One" and several other terrific shows from the late 1940s until about 1960. Unfortunately, few are available on DVD and we are lucky that even a few survive today--most appear to be gone forever. However, I should also point out that although there were some absolutely brilliant productions (such as "Marty", "Days of Wine and Roses" and "Requiem for a Heavyweight"), occasionally there were a few duds--and this can certainly be understood.
I notice that there are already two other reviews for this particular production. While I, too, love Charlton Heston...I was NOT thrilled by this teleplay. In fact, I hated it--the first time I felt this way about any of these shows. Why did I hate it? Well, first, I really came to HATE the song "Greensleaves", as it played almost non-stop through the show--like some sort of insidious torture device!! Second, I have never seen such hamminess and overacting in a TV show--it was truly that bad! Heston's version of Heathcliff was just too brooding and intense--even before he was rejected by Catherine. And he was not the only one--many of the actors came on way too strong and simply overacted. Surprisingly, Una O'Conner (who was uncredited but played Nelly), was among the more sedate performances--and in the 1930s she was famous for her histrionics as the screaming lady in "Bride of Frankenstein" and "The Invisible Man"!!! The only really good performance was by Lloyd Bochner--a very, very familiar face on TV through the decades. Here, in a very early role, he puts on a credible British accent and underplays nicely--and it's easy to notice him since he is one of the few who ISN'T loud and over-baked! Sorry, but despite a good rating and two positive reviews, I simply hated this. It lacked subtlety from start to finish and it's intensity level was an 11 (on a scale from 1 to 10).
Una O'Connor as 'Nelly', good Bochner
I notice that there are already two other reviews for this particular production. While I, too, love Charlton Heston...I was NOT thrilled by this teleplay. In fact, I hated it--the first time I felt this way about any of these shows. Why did I hate it? Well, first, I really came to HATE the song "Greensleaves", as it played almost non-stop through the show--like some sort of insidious torture device!! Second, I have never seen such hamminess and overacting in a TV show--it was truly that bad! Heston's version of Heathcliff was just too brooding and intense--even before he was rejected by Catherine. And he was not the only one--many of the actors came on way too strong and simply overacted. Surprisingly, Una O'Conner (who was uncredited but played Nelly), was among the more sedate performances--and in the 1930s she was famous for her histrionics as the screaming lady in "Bride of Frankenstein" and "The Invisible Man"!!! The only really good performance was by Lloyd Bochner--a very, very familiar face on TV through the decades. Here, in a very early role, he puts on a credible British accent and underplays nicely--and it's easy to notice him since he is one of the few who ISN'T loud and over-baked! Sorry, but despite a good rating and two positive reviews, I simply hated this. It lacked subtlety from start to finish and it's intensity level was an 11 (on a scale from 1 to 10).
Una O'Connor as 'Nelly', good Bochner