|
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)
Victor Hugo's Immortal
Classic
Director: Wallace Worsley, rated
Passed
  Starring:
Lon Chaney, Patsy Ruth Miller, Norman Kerry, Kate Lester,
Winifred Bryson, Nigel De Brulier, Brandon Hurst, Ernest
Torrence, Tully Marshall, Harry von Meter, Raymond Hatton
DML Rating:
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
- good
"Why was I not made of
stone, like thee?"
- Quasimodo, to a
gargoyle
Why watch this? Two
reasons: it is a timeless story, and Lon Chaney as Quasimodo.
Plot Summary:
In 15th-century Paris, the kind-hearted gypsy dancer
Esmeralda is sought after by the evil Jehan, brother of the
archdeacon, and the dashing soldier Captain Phoebus. After being
framed for a crime by Jehan, Esmeralda is sentenced to death,
only to be rescued and given sanctuary within Notre Dame
Cathedral by the deformed bell-ringer, Quasimodo, who harbors a
deep devotion to her. This act sets off a conflict as a mob from
the city's underworld storms the cathedral to either free or
kill Esmeralda, forcing Quasimodo to defend her and the church.
| |
Dad's Preview:
As a nine-year-old, and years before seeing this film, I
constructed the hunchback model (by
Aurora) for my "Monsters" collection. It even glowed in the
dark. The tortured,
deformed Quasimodo has always garnered my sympathy. It was
make-up like this that had Hollywood calling Lon Chaney the "Man
of a Thousand Faces" - it truly is a grotesque physical
transformation, eons before CGI. This film version of Victor
Hugo's novel is epic as it recreates old Paris and the mobs of
people - always hungry for vile entertainment. Patsy Miller
captivates, as the beautiful gypsy Esmeralda, always the passion
of men, yet with a soft spot for Quasimodo. This is Universal
horror 101, and a must see for fans of the genre. |
|
Carl Laemmle, Lon
Chaney,
Irving Thalberg;
Universal Pictures
|
