The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)

In director William Dieterle's (and RKO's) classic adaptation of the 1831 Victor Hugo novel, the historical costume adventure-drama told about the hunchbacked Notre Dame Cathedral bell-ringer and his love for a gypsy girl in 15th century medieval Paris, France. Charles Laughton, in arguably his best acting performance of his career, was almost unrecognizable as the disfigured and mis-shapen, but sympathetic title character Quasimodo.

The title character was hideously-deformed, grotesque, outcast hunchback Quasimodo (Charles Laughton) who lived as the bell-ringer in the towers of Notre Dame's Cathedral. The hunchback was scorned by an angry mob during a public whipping and pillory, but was shown pity and kindness by a beautiful Gypsy dancer girl, Esmeralda (Maureen O'Hara in her screen debut) who brought him water. He developed a tragic fondness for the girl, and rescued her from being hanged in the public square after being charged as a witch by bigoted, jealousy-crazed Chief Justice Frollo (Cedric Hardwicke). Quasimodo took her back into the bell tower where he claimed 'Sanctuary.'

This film was the best screen adaptation of Victor Hugo's classic tale of a tragic love story. It was filmed earlier as the silent film The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) with Lon Chaney, and later in 1956 with Anthony Quinn and Gina Lollobrigida. It was also a TV movie in 1982 with Anthony Hopkins and Lesley-Anne Down, and envisioned as a Disney animation in 1996.

The Academy neglected this film's two main lead roles for Oscar nominations: Charles Laughton as the deformed Quasimodo and Maureen O'Hara as Esmeralda. The film had only two nominations - resulting in no wins for Best Sound and Best Score (Alfred Newman). With a budget of 1ドル.83 million, the film grossed 3ドル.27 million (domestic) in revenue. It was RKO's second-most expensive film to date, topped only by the same year's Gunga Din (1939)).

• during the Fool's Day annual celebration in medieval Paris, as part of the proceedings, a King of Fools was to be selected; Louis XI (Harry Davenport), the King of France noted:
  • "The ugly is very appealing to man... it's instinct. One shrinks from the ugly, yet wants to look at it. There's a devilish fascination in it. We extract pleasure from horror"
• in the opening sequence, pretty gypsy girl Esmeralda (Maureen O'Hara) danced before an appreciative audience, even though gypsies were persecuted and considered outcasts (and prohibited from entering Paris); she was thrown a coin by the King who remarked: "Who cares about her race? She's pretty!"; as she danced, one eye peered out to secretly watch her and she shrunk back in horror: "That eye, staring at me," as various onlookers commented: "It's an animal. It's a fiend"
• it was the first hideous view of deafened Quasimodo (Charles Laughton), the hunchback bellringer of Notre Dame - only part of his deformed face was visible; he was seized and led to the stage by a throng of people and offered to be crowned and proclaimed the new King of Fools
• in an extremely touching scene, the radiantly-beautiful gypsy girl Esmeralda mercifully offered a drink of water to the deformed hunchback bellringer Quasimodo after a public scourging during his one hour on the pillory

• in a sub-plot, Esmeralda was sentenced - framed and falsely accused of witchcraft ("bewitched") and murder (of her soldier-lover Captain Phoebus (Alan Marshal)) by the sexually-repressed and jealousy-crazed Chief Justice Jean Frollo (Cedric Hardwicke), Quasimodo’s adoptive father figure
• Esmeralda was taken to be hanged on a wooden scaffold within view of the Notre Dame Cathedral
• the sequence was topped by Quasimodo's thrilling and daring rescue of the gypsy girl by swinging to her on a rope, seizing her, and taking her up to the towering structure, and crying as he held her above his head:
  • "Sanctuary, Sanctuary"
• during a vengeful scene in the ND belltower, when Quasimodo confronted Frollo seeking to harm Esmeralda with a dagger, Quasimodo struggled against Frollo, then grabbed him and threw him off the top of the cathedral

• in the bittersweet ending after Esmeralda (and her gypsy people) were pardoned, Quasimodo delivered a heartbreaking closing line next to a gargoyle high atop Notre Dame:
  • "Why was I not made of stone like thee?"

• the film concluded with a tremendous zoom back of the camera from the cathedral with choruses of 'Hallelujah' to end the film