The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Director: William Dieterle Cast: Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton
, Maureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Hara
, Cedric Hardwicke
Cedric Hardwicke
, Thomas Mitchell
Thomas Mitchell
William Dieterle
The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Director: William Dieterle Cast: Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton
, Maureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Hara
, Cedric Hardwicke
Cedric Hardwicke
, Thomas Mitchell
Thomas Mitchell
William Dieterle

DVD (Repackaged / Full Frame)

$14.99 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Temporarily Out of Stock Online
  • PICK UP IN STORE
    Check Availability at Nearby Stores

Related collections and offers


Overview

Few will argue with the contention that RKO Radio's 1939 adaptation of Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame was the best of the many screen versions of the Hugo classic. We say this even allowing for certain liberties taken with the source material-liberties calculated by scenarists Sonya Levien and Bruno Frank to draw parallels between 15th century Paris and 20th century Europe. Thus, Claude Frollo (Cedric Hardwicke), the villain of the piece, is no longer merely a religious hypocrite unable to control his own carnal desires. Instead, Frollo is a bush-league Hitler, warning that the invention of the printing press is dangerous in that it will encourage the rabble to think for themselves, and plotting the persecution and destruction of the "undesirable" gypsies. In the same vein, Gringoire the Poet (Edmond O'Brien in his film debut) has been transformed into an agit-prop "Group Theatre" activist, bent on bringing the unvarnished truth to the ignorant Parisians. Many of Hugo's subplots have been dispensed with, the better to concentrate on the grotesquely deformed Quasimodo (Charles Laughton), bell-ringer of Notre Dame Cathedral, and his puppylike loyalty towards imperiled gypsy dancer Esmerelda (Maureen O'Hara, in her first American film appearance). The schism between the haves and have-nots in the walled city of Paris is illustrated in broad, visually dynamic strokes by director William Dieterle.

Product Details

Release Date: 11/09/2010
UPC: 0883929151387
Original Release: 1939
Rating: NR
Source: Turner Home Ent
Region Code: 1
Presentation: [B&W]
Sound: [Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language: English
Time: 1:57:00
Sales rank: 16,044

Special Features

Closed Caption; Behind-the-scenes documentary featuring an interview with Maureen O'Hara

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Charles Laughton Quasimodo
Maureen O'Hara Esmeralda
Cedric Hardwicke Frollo
Thomas Mitchell Clopin
Edmond O'Brien Gringoire
Alan Marshal Phoebus
Walter Hampden Archdeacon
Harry Davenport Louis XI
Katherine Alexander Mme. De Lys
George Zucco Procurator
Fritz Leiber A Nobleman
Etienne Girardot The King's Physician
Helene Whitney Fleur
Minna Gombell Queen of Beggars
Arthur Hohl Olivier
Rod LaRocque Phillipo
Spencer Charters Court Clerk
Rondo Hatton Ugly Man
Curt Bois Actor
George Tobias Beggar
Alfred Newman Composer

Technical Credits
William Dieterle Director
Sonya Levien Screenwriter
Bruno Frank Screenwriter
Pandro S. Berman Producer
Vernon L. Walker Special Effects,Special Effects
From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews