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IMDbPro

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

  • 19391939
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 57m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
12K
YOUR RATING
Maureen O'Hara and Charles Laughton in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
Trailer for The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Play trailer1:54
1 Video
71 Photos
DramaRomance
In 15th-century France, a gypsy girl is framed for murder by the infatuated Chief Justice, and only the deformed bellringer of Notre Dame Cathedral can save her.In 15th-century France, a gypsy girl is framed for murder by the infatuated Chief Justice, and only the deformed bellringer of Notre Dame Cathedral can save her.In 15th-century France, a gypsy girl is framed for murder by the infatuated Chief Justice, and only the deformed bellringer of Notre Dame Cathedral can save her.
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
12K
YOUR RATING
    • William Dieterle
    • Sonya Levien(screen play)
    • Bruno Frank(adaptation)
    • Victor Hugo
  • Stars
    • Charles Laughton
    • Maureen O'Hara
    • Cedric Hardwicke
    • William Dieterle
    • Sonya Levien(screen play)
    • Bruno Frank(adaptation)
    • Victor Hugo
  • Stars
    • Charles Laughton
    • Maureen O'Hara
    • Cedric Hardwicke
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 109User reviews
    • 43Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 2 Oscars

    Videos1

    The Hunchback of Notre Dame
    Trailer 1:54
    Watch The Hunchback of Notre Dame

    Photos71

    Charles Laughton in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
    Edmond O'Brien, Anne G. Sterling, Ruth Sterling, and Fanny Sterling in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
    Charles Laughton in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
    The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
    Charles Laughton in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
    Maureen O'Hara, Charles Laughton, and Cedric Hardwicke in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
    Charles Laughton in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
    Maureen O'Hara in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
    Maureen O'Hara in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
    Charles Laughton in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
    "Hunchback Of Notre Dame" Maureen O'hara, Charles Laughton 1939 RKO / **I.V.
    The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Charles Laughton
    Charles Laughton
    • The Hunchback Quasimodo
    Maureen O'Hara
    Maureen O'Hara
    • Esmeralda
    Cedric Hardwicke
    Cedric Hardwicke
    • Frollo
    • (as Sir Cedric Hardwicke)
    Thomas Mitchell
    Thomas Mitchell
    • Clopin
    Edmond O'Brien
    Edmond O'Brien
    • Gringoire
    Alan Marshal
    Alan Marshal
    • Phoebus
    Walter Hampden
    Walter Hampden
    • Archdeacon
    Harry Davenport
    Harry Davenport
    • King Louis XI
    Katharine Alexander
    Katharine Alexander
    • Madame de Lys
    George Zucco
    George Zucco
    • Procurator
    Fritz Leiber
    Fritz Leiber
    • Old Nobleman
    Etienne Girardot
    Etienne Girardot
    • Doctor
    Helene Reynolds
    Helene Reynolds
    • Fleur de Lys
    • (as Helene Whitney)
    Minna Gombell
    Minna Gombell
    • Queen of Beggars
    • (as Mina Gombell)
    Arthur Hohl
    Arthur Hohl
    • Olivier
    Curt Bois
    Curt Bois
    • Student
    George Tobias
    George Tobias
    • Beggar
    Rod La Rocque
    Rod La Rocque
    • Phillippe
    • (as Rod LaRocque)
      • William Dieterle
      • Sonya Levien(screen play)
      • Bruno Frank(adaptation)
      • Victor Hugo
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      For the scene in which Quasimodo is whipped, Charles Laughton instructed an assistant director to twist his ankle outside of camera range so he would really be in pain. Even through the heavy hump and rubber body suit, he felt every lash and often came home badly bruised. Before the 16th take, director William Dieterle whispered to him, "Now, Charles, listen to me. Let's do it one more time, but this time I want you . . . I want you to suffer." According to Laughton's wife, Elsa Lanchester, the actor never forgave him for that.
    • Goofs
      The cathedral is shown as having a full flight of steps up to the front doors. Notre Dame has always been more or less level with the square (le Parvis).
    • Quotes

      [Last lines]

      Quasimodo, the bell-ringer: [to one of the stone gargoyles] Why was I not made of stone - like thee?

    • Alternate versions
      Also available in a computer colorized version.
    • Connections
      Edited into The Clock (2010)
    • Soundtracks
      Ave Maria
      (1572) (uncredited)

      Music by Tomás Luis de Victoria

      Sung by mixed chorus during opening credits

    User reviews109

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    The peak of art in Hollywood cinema
    A sweeping claim? Perhaps. But despite the presence in Hollywood over sixty subsequent years of Ford, Wyler, Kubrick, Coppola, Scorsese et al, The Hunchback of Notre Dame remains as fresh, as emotionally resonant and yes as powerfully artistic as the day it was made. What constitutes 'art' is of course a personal matter, just as the Breughel-like compositions of Hunchback might be as mystifying to someone whose favourite film is A Clockwork Orange (Lichtenstein?). But what makes Hunchback so satisfying as art is precisely that its makers didn't set out with art in mind. Dieterle and his co-creators embarked on the project with the aim of telling a great yarn, making it look authentic, and above all ENTERTAINING the audience. It is to this end that the Grand Guignol excesses of the novel were trimmed or altered, and the Hollywood bittersweet ending imposed. Audiences filed out with their Kleenex in hand having witnessed a three-ring circus of a movie, then went home to read the war-soaked newspapers.

    Virtually every frame of this movie could be taken in isolation, made into a poster and hung on a wall. Examples include Gringoire cradling the dying Clopin as a rivulet of lead trickles past in the background, the voyeuristic eye of Quasimodo peering through fence palings at the dancing Esmeralda - I could go on and on. And pervading it all is the magnificent score of Alfred Newman, surely his finest ever.

    Rather than sing its obvious praises, the film can simply speak for itself. As narrative, as character, as cinema craft, it is totally successful throughout. The Hunchback of Notre Dame is my favourite film of all time, bar none. Ten out of ten
    helpful•93
    12
    • jeffbertucen@hotmail.com
    • Dec 12, 2002

    FAQ6

    • What is 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' about?
    • Is "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" based on a book?
    • In what year is the story set?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 29, 1939 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • RKO Encino Ranch - Balboa Boulevard & Burbank Boulevard, Encino, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • RKO Radio Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 57 minutes
      • Black and White

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