Year of Release: 1923Country of Origin: USA
Director: Wallace Worsley
Cast: Lon Chaney, Patsy Ruth Miller, Norman Kerry
Plot outline: Film adaptation of Victor Hugo's classic about a deformed bell-ringer who gives sanctuary to a beautiful gypsy accused of witchcraft and murder (IMDb).
The Hunchback of Notre Dame ranks among the most famous silent movies. The colossal sets and huge cast will impress the experienced movie fans. The story includes a whipping, an attempted kidnapping, an attempted hanging, a stabbing, torture, an attempted rape, and a murder, not to mention the crowd control methods of the Hunchback, consisting of molten lead and thrown stone blocks and beams. It's a violent movie! But, most people who come across this movie are unlikely to watch it, simply because most small screen viewers avoid black and white movies, and especially lack patience for silent movies. They want to see good looking people in difficulty. Esmeralda is pretty, and she's often in peril, but it's not enough to satisfy modern audiences, who are spoiled by an abundance of colour hotties in hot water. This movie reminds me of The Phantom of the Opera (1925), Chaney's other famous big budget movie, where he also plays a tormented and disfigured man obsessed with a beautiful young woman who cannot return his love. The 1939 remake, of course, also comes to mind. That version is superior, partly because of its quality of cast, but mostly because it is was made during the glory years of the Hollywood studio system. Story improvements of the present silent version include Quasimodo swinging across the courtyard to rescue Esmeralda, rather than merely shimmying down a rope to get to her. The RKO Radio version also disposes of unnecessary characters, such as the madwoman who turns out to be Esmeralda's mother, and elevates the Hunchback into the principal character instead of Esmeralda. The irony of the 1923 version of Esmeralda is that she presses for peace and mercy for others at every turn, yet always is the cause of violence. People commit serious crimes in order to possess her. No wonder she wants to become a nun, instead of her current status as a Medieval Helen of Troy. (BK)
My judgement: *** out of 4 stars
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