Way back in December 1953, when the only Television channel was BBC – Richard Todd had been approached to play Heathcliffe in a production that went out live – On Sunday evening 6th December 1953 at 8-40 pm and then again on Thursday  December 10th 1953 this time at 7 pm – of the same week. With no facilities for recording at that time, they all had to do the play again in the studio.

There were of course many studio sets and the actors had to scamper from one to another avoiding all the wires and cameras which inevitable were around.

I have a recollection of this production as a child but I hadn’t realised that until a few years ago that Richard Todd had been the star – but I do remember a scene where the older Heathcliffe was looking out of an upstairs window on a snowy wild night and Cathy’s hand gripped his – and in fact I think that is how it ended with him dead at the window clutching something in his hand,

Looking at the cast – Rene Ray was in it as was Peter Bryant.

Yvonne Mitchell was voted Television Actress of the Year 1953 by the Daily Mail for her role as Cathy in this production and consequently Nigel Kneale and Rudolph Cartier who produced Wuthering Heights were again teamed together for that very famous TV production of 1984 starring also Peter Cushing.

Sadly she died quite young in 1979

This comment on one site says a lot – ‘Yvonne Mitchel was quite wonderful in Yield to Night, playing a prison guard looking after Diana Dors’ character, they worked really well together. I also loved her in Woman in a Dressing Gown made the following year.’