Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) - Chaney radiates humanity as tragic deformed hero in impressive production

5/27/2021

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) - Chaney radiates humanity as tragic deformed hero in impressive production

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A dark and quite haunting, elaborate painting of the 'Festival of Fools' scene from the film makes up this atmospheric poster for Wallace Worsley's The Hunchback of Notre Dame

In Paris' Cathedral of Notre Dame in the year 1482 the outcast hunchback Quasimodo is in charge of the bells during a dramatic period, in which local gypsy beauty Esmeralda becomes the object of desire for the dashing Captain Phoebus.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is written by Perley Poore Sheehan (For Those We Love (1921)) and Edward T. Lowe Jr. (Educating Father (1936)), with Chester L. Roberts (Prisoners of Love (1921)) contributing uncredited contributions, adapting the same-titled 1831 novel by Victor Hugo (Bug-Jargal (1826), and directed by Wallace Worsley (An Alien Enemy (1918)).

It is an impressive major production, which shows what incredible lengths the Hollywood studio machine was able to traverse to entertain and woo the world in the roaring twenties. The result is grand and it is entertaining.

The film presents thousands of extras, horses, costumes, beautiful sets and the dilemma plot of Esmeralda caught between her raucous street background and her new-found love from the aristocracy. But the film's inevitable highlight is without a doubt Lon Chaney's (The Ace of Hearts (1921)) deeply impressive turn as Quasimodo.

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Estimated 1.25 mil. $

Box office: 3.5 mil. $ rentals

= Box office success (returned 2.8 times its cost in rentals alone)

[The Hunchback of Notre Dame premiered 2 September (New York) and runs 102 minutes, with a cut version running 98 minutes and a director's cut version running 117 minutes. Chaney had personally bought the rights to make the film and was deeply involved in the production. Erich von Stroheim was reportedly his first choice to direct but was fired by Universal executive Irving Thalberg for budget overruns on his Merry-Go-Round (1923). Construction of the Notre Dame set took approximately 6 months, including 35 ten feet high replicas of the 'Gallery of Kings' statues. Shooting took place from December 1922 - June 1923 in California and France. The 3.5 mil. $ rental figure stems from a 1932 Variety article; it should be noted that a gross figure could then realistically be much higher. The film has fallen into public domain and can be seen and downloaded free and legally right here. Worsley returned with The Man Who Fights Alone (1924). Chaney returned in The Next Corner (1924). The Hunchback of Notre Dame is fresh at 92 % with an 8.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

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Roger Corman has passed away

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Corman had a sprawling, intellectually hungry life as a youth and young man before arriving with his first film in 1955, Five Guns West. He would follow that with titles such as Apache Woman, It Conquered the World, Attack of the Crab Monsters, Teenage Cave Man, A Bucket of Blood, House of Usher, The Little Shop of Horrors, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Intruder, The Raven, The Terror, The Masque of Red Death, The Tomb of Ligeia, The Wild Angels, The Trip, Bloody Mama and many more. As a producer he was behind almost 500 films. Arguably among the most important filmmakers of the 20th century, Corman passed away at age 98. R.I.P.

William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

William Hurt has passed away

Born in Washington D.C., Hurt's first film role was the lead in Altered States (1980). Later credits include Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned his only Oscar as Best Actor; Chilrdren of a Lesser God (1986), for which he was also Oscar-nominated; Broadcast News (1987), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; Smoke (1995), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), A History of Violence (2005), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; The Good Shepherd (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and many more. Hurt passed away at age 71. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

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5/27/2021

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) - Chaney radiates humanity as tragic deformed hero in impressive production

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