 Tagline: BIG beyond words!...Wondrous beyond belief!...Magnificent beyond compare! - (Title lobby card) Lon Chaney stars as the gentle outcast Quasimodo in the first film version of Victor Hugo's classic novel, "The Hunchback Of Notre Dame." Paris of 1482 was meticulously recreated on the backlot of Universal Studios for this powerful drama that turned Lon Chaney into a screen legend. Storyline: King Louis XI is a wise and old king and Frollo is the Chief Justice. Frollo gazes on the gypsy girl, Esmeralda, in the church during Fool's Day and sends Quasimoto to catch her. Quasimoto, with the girl, is captured by Phoebus, Captain of the Guards, who frees the girl. The courts sentence Quasimoto to be flogged, and the only one who will give him water while he is tied in the square is Esmeralda. Later, at a party of nobles, Esmeralda again meets both Frollo, who is bewitched by her, and Phoebus. When Phoebus is stabbed to death, Esmeralda is accused of the murder, convicted by the court and sentenced to hang. Clopin, King of the Beggars, Gringoire the Husband of Esmeralda, and Quasimoto, the bellringer, all try different ways to save her from the gallows. Written by Tony Fontana Cast Notes: Lon Chaney (Quasimodo), Patsy Ruth Miller (Esmeralda), Norman Kerry (Phoebus de Chateaupers), Kate Lester (Madame de Gondelaurier), Winifred Bryson (Fleur de Lys), Nigel De Brulier (Dom Claudio), Brandon Hurst (Jehan), Ernest Torrence (Clopin), Tully Marshall (Louis XI), Harry von Meter (Monsieur Neufchatel), Raymond Hatton (Gringoire), Nick De Ruiz (Monsieur le Torteru), Eulalie Jensen (Marie), Roy Laidlaw (Charmolu), W. Ray Meyers (Charmolu's Assistant). User Comment: Ron Oliver (revilorest@juno.com) from Forest Ranch, CA, 1 July 2005 • Deaf and half-blind, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, feared & rejected by the people of Paris, becomes the unlikely protector of a poor gypsy girl. Lon Chaney, master of disguise, solidified his celebrity with his portrayal of Quasimodo, the deformed bell-ringer, who is forever cut off from any semblance of a normal life. Although his makeup is certainly horrific, Chaney's role is not really monstrous: he is a lonely human desperately misused by Fate. Chaney's face speaks for him, communicating the tormenting anguish of his soul. While not quite as poignant as Charles Laughton's interpretation 16 years later, Chaney still makes of the role a Silent hallmark which has stood the test of time. There are fairly lengthy segments in which Chaney does not appear and plot elements not explored in the longer Laughton version. Here the story dwells on the gypsy dancer Esmeralda, played by Patsy Ruth Miller, and her burgeoning romance with the brave Phoebus, Captain of the Guard, played by Norman Kerry. Both performers do very well with their 'normal' roles -- her innocence contrasting well with his initial lust -- even though the viewer is doubtless anxious for the return of the Hunchback. A handful of excellent character actors from the era add their assistance: gaunt Nigel de Brulier as the saintly Archdeacon, defender of the Hunchback; beefy Ernest Torrence as Clopin, King of Thieves, ruling over the Court of Miracles; prissy Raymond Hatton as the effete poet Gringoire; and feeble Tully Marshall as a suspicious Louis XI. Special mention must be made of Universal's splendid attention to detail which they lavished on the film. Most especially commendable is the representation of Notre Dame's West Facade, the only real angle from which the Cathedral's exterior is depicted. To see Chaney clamber down, swinging from pinnacle to gargoyle to statue; or, to watch Quasimodo defend Esmeralda from the crowd of beggars he thinks has come to kill her, dropping stones, beams and molten metal on their heads below from the Cathedral's ramparts, is to enjoy two of Silent Cinema's great visual moments. Summary: Medieval Menace. IMDb Rating (03/14/15): 7.9/10 from 7,170 users IMDb Rating (01/15/10): 7.4/10 from 1,430 users IMDb Rating (06/01/01): 7.5/10 from 138 users
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