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The Hunchback of Notre Dame Overview:

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) was a Drama - Film Adaptation Film directed by William Dieterle and produced by Pandro S. Berman.

The film was based on the novel Notre-Dame de Paris (The Hunchback of Notre-Dame) written by Victor Hugo published in 1831.

SYNOPSIS

The second and best version of Hugo's tale of the benevolent but hideous bell-ringer of Notre Dame, Quasimodo, who rescues a beautiful Gypsy girl (O'Hara) from the clutches of a sadistic bishop. Laughton evokes both pity and fear in one of his greatest performances. The Hollywood debut for O'Hara and O'Brien. Remade for TV in 1982, and as an odd Disney animated feature in 1996.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Academy Awards 1939 --- Ceremony Number 12 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best Music - ScoringAlfred NewmanNominated
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The Hunchback of Notre Dame BlogHub Articles:

Silents are Golden: A Closer Look At – The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)

By Lea Stans on Jun 15, 2023 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

Silents are Golden: A Closer Look At – The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) The silent era is synonymous with many things: tenderly-lit romances, wacky silent comedies, edgy German Expressionism, and, of course, big-budget spectacles. From Intolerance (1916) to Metropolis (1927), silent era epics... Read full article

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) and The Rejected Cornerstone

By 4 Star Film Fan on Sep 22, 2020 From 4 Star Films

Note: This post was originally written a few days after the Notre Dame fire on April 15th, 2019. “All over France, in every city there stand cathedrals like this one, triumphant monuments of the past. They tower over the homes of our people like mighty guardians keeping alive the invincible fa... Read full article

The hunchback of notre dame

By Joey on Sep 15, 2014 From Wolffianclassicmoviesdigest

The hunchback of notre dame(1939) review https://www.facebook.com/Wolffianclassicmoviesdigest The hunchback of notre dame is hollywood at its best as RKO’s biggest budgeted and most successful film that year in both critical acclaim and box office. Under the direction of the German-born Will... Read full article

The hunchback of notre dame

By Joey on Sep 15, 2014 From Wolffianclassicmoviesdigest

The hunchback of notre dame(1939) review https://www.facebook.com/Wolffianclassicmoviesdigest The hunchback of notre dame is hollywood at its best as RKO’s biggest budgeted and most successful film that year in both critical acclaim and box office. Under the direction of the German-born Will... Read full article

Blu-ray Review: Lon Chaney in The Hunchback of Notre Dame

By KC on Apr 30, 2014 From Classic Movies

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) Directed by: Wallace Worsley Starring: Lon Chaney, Patsy Ruth Miller, Norman Kerry Produced by: Irving Thalberg 110 minutes Flicker Alley (Blackhawk Films Collection) Of course, back in the 1800s Victor Hugo had no idea he was writing a novel perfectly suited to ... Read full article

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The Hunchback of Notre Dame Quotes:

Clopin: [to Gringoire immediately following flogging of Quasimodo] Never trust a man with pinched nostrils and thin lips.
Gringoire: Your hands are like ice. You're not afraid are you?
Esmeralda: Not now oh Gringoire, Why did I ever come to paris?
Gringoire: Don't cry darling
Esmeralda: I keep thinking and thinking How I came here to soften the king heart towards my people until my silly heart betrayed me for that I deserve to die.
Gringoire: You will not! I will get you free
Esmeralda: You will look out after my people when I am gone
Clopin: Try to take a purse out of that pocket, but if one single bell jingles, you fail.
Gringoire: And then?
Clopin: And then you hang!
Gringoire: [pondering for a moment] Can you do it?
Clopin: I'm above that sort of thing. I cut throats. I don't cut purses.
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The Hunchback of Notre Dame Facts
Having worked with her in London, Charles Laughton insisted that 'Maureen O'Hara' would be the perfect Esmeralda for the film.
Sound from King Kong is used in the film: when Esmeralda is being tortured, some of her screams we hear belong to Fay Wray. Also, when Quasimodo is defending the cathedral, some of the screams of the wounded attackers belong to the sailors from King Kong; and when Frollo falls to his death, his scream belongs to one of the sailors as well.
Charles Laughton's makeup took two-and-a-half hours to apply each day.
This was RKO's last release for 1939 (and second costliest in its history, next to Gunga Din). Although it premiered about the same time as Gone with the Wind, it held its own at the box office, grossing an impressive $3.155 million.
Two actors in the film play two different roles, one credited, one not. Thomas Mitchell plays Clopin (credited) and also plays the deaf judge that sentences Quasimodo to the pillory. George Tobias plays the beggar who wants to hang Gringoire (credited as "Beggar"), and also plays one of the workmen in the cathedral who sees Quasimodo ringing the bells in his joy of Esmeralda.
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