The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Released Sep 2, 1923

1h 33m

Drama

Horror

Romance

List

93%

Tomatometer

28 Reviews

76%

Audience Score

2,500+ Ratings

In 15th-century Paris, Jehan (Brandon Hurst), the evil brother of the archdeacon, lusts after a Gypsy named Esmeralda (Patsy Ruth Miller) and commands the hunchback Quasimodo (Lon Chaney) to capture her. Military captain Phoebus (Norman Kerry) also loves Esmeralda and rescues her, but the Gypsy is not unsympathetic to Quasimodo's condition, and an unlikely bond forms between them. After vengeful Jehan frames Esmeralda for the attempted murder of Phoebus, Quasimodo's feelings are put to the test.

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Critics Consensus

A heart-rending take on the classic book, with a legendary performance by Lon Chaney.

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C.A. Lejeune

Guardian

Although it is an elaborate-studied piece of work, over which much time and many dollars have been spent, it makes no tumultuous call upon our enthusiasm.

Nov 20, 2018

Full Review

Tom Milne

Time Out

Worth seeing mainly for Chaney's remarkable performance; even bowed and constricted by the heavy weights he used to help simulate Quasimodo's crippled gait, his body remains extraordinarily expressive.

Jun 24, 2006

Full Review

Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

The self-torture demanded by Chaney's makeup is impressive, as are the scales of the sets and the crowd scenes, but nothing comes to life under the flat direction of Wallace Worsley.

Mar 28, 2002

Full Review

Jules Caldeira

Film Inquiry

This iteration of The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a must for Chaney fans, Hugo Stans, or anyone who’s seen the Disney film and is looking for something a little more true in tone to the book.

Nov 2, 2023

Full Review

Michael Barrett

PopMatters

Every aspect of the studio machine was working on all cylinders, yet The Hunchback of Notre Dame would have accounted for nothing without the anchoring performance by Lon Chaney.

May 5, 2022

Full Review

Carl Sandburg

Chicago Daily News

In The Hunchback of Notre Dame may be seen what is surely Lon Chaney's masterpiece, the best piece of character work he has done in his interesting life in the movies.

Mar 28, 2022

Full Review

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Teddy B

Wallace Worsley's direction isn't anything to really write home about but, admit it, Lon Chaney carries this film on his hunched back and into the stratosphere.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/12/24

Full Review

robert p

There are *2* such films with this title and both are good including the one done by actor Charles Loughton but this version falls below the one with Charles Laughton because his is the best by far but this actor get's his dues too, which is why I give this version a *4* star review!!!!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

By far the best silent film I've seen. Love it!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

Ethan S

An enjoyable if a little overlong film. I haven't read the book, but it seems to me the filmmakers may have played up the bit about class struggle - there are definite shades of the French Revolution that seem a little anachronistic for the 15th century (though I realize the novel was also written well after the revolution also). Coming out in 1923 just as the Soviet Union emerged from its own revolution and civil war, I wonder if the filmmakers were not attempting some form of social commentary.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/22/22

Full Review

Audience Member

Not quite as iconic as other films of thebtime its still great.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

08/12/21

Full Review

andres s

It's so interesting how spooky and eerie this version is. I think it's because it's in black and white and because it's so grainy looking. But also the architecture too, it's gothic. The storytelling is really good. I like how it doesn't focus so much on Quasimodo but instead on the other characters like Esmeralda and Phoebus and Clopin. There's a lot of depth already in the story and I'm eager to find out more. The only thing I wish this movie had was a remastered or even a restored version because it could definitely use it. I'm not that big a fan of silent movies, I'll watch them if I know they're good. It was honestly kind of hard to get in to since the quality of the film was shit. This one is a darker and more realistic look at the whole story that includes the clashing of lower class versus high class. Quasimodo is also more vicious pouring boiling liquid onto the mob trying to get into the cathedral as well as dropping boulders onto them. But I think the darkest and most sinister character of them all is Jehan. I hated the way he controlled things from behind the scenes in a very sneaky manner, like a snake. The way he sabotaged Esmeralda's and Phoebus' love by making it seem like Esmeralda was the one who stabbed Phoebus. And at the end how he stabbed Quasimodo which then lead to his death; but not before Quasi threw him off of the roof of the cathedral. Quasimodo is the real hero in this one. This definitely isn't your Disney version of Hunchback of Notre Dame but it was a pretty damn good one.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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Wallace Worsley

Director

Lon Chaney

Quasimodo

Patsy Ruth Miller

Esmeralda

Ernest Torrence

Clopin

Tully Marshall

El Rey Luis XI

Norman Kerry

Phoebus de Chateaupers

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Synopsis

In 15th-century Paris, Jehan (Brandon Hurst), the evil brother of the archdeacon, lusts after a Gypsy named Esmeralda (Patsy Ruth Miller) and commands the hunchback Quasimodo (Lon Chaney) to capture her. Military captain Phoebus (Norman Kerry) also loves Esmeralda and rescues her, but the Gypsy is not unsympathetic to Quasimodo's condition, and an unlikely bond forms between them. After vengeful Jehan frames Esmeralda for the attempted murder of Phoebus, Quasimodo's feelings are put to the test.

Director: Wallace Worsley
Screenwriter: Edward T. Lowe Jr., Perley Poore Sheehan
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Universal Pictures
Genre: Drama, Horror, Romance
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 2, 1923, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 7, 2015
Runtime: 1h 33m

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