Episode 014: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)

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Poster for The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Illustration. A woman dances, hands and one leg raised in the air. One hand holds a tambourine, while the other holds a leash attached to a white goat, standing on its hind legs.
A crowd looks on behind her. One figure off to the right shows Quasimodo, stooped and crowned, also looking on.
Text across top: Carl Laemmle Offers: The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
With Lon Chaney
Directed by WM Worsley
Text across bottom: The Festival of Fools
A Universal Production

AnDread and Bill the Butcher Van Veghel dive into The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923). We discuss Lon Chaney’s connections to disability, Quasimodo as an empathetic disabled character, and the horrors of silent cinema. Also a review of Post-Mortem with Mick Garris Podcast.

  1. Intro
  2. The Hunchback of Notre Dame Overview  25:32
    • The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1923 gothic medieval horror/drama/romance directed by Wallace Worsley
    • Screenplay by Edward T. Lowe, Jr. and Perley Poore Sheehan
    • Adapted from Victor Hugo 1831 novel Notre-Dame de Paris (Our Lady of Paris)
    • In public domain, available on YouTube, Amazon, Kanopy, Hulu – do not watch the Amazon one; copies on Kanopy (2007 edition by Film Preservation Associates with digital restoration) and YouTube cleaner
    • Running times vary; IMDb lists 2 hours 13 minutes but I don’t think that version exists; the ones I watched were 1 hour 51 min / 111 min
    • Only surviving prints of the film are 16mm “show-at-home” prints distributed by Universal in the 1920s and 1930s, no original nitrate 35mm negatives or prints exist. 10-15 minutes remain lost.
    • Synopsis: In 1482 Paris, Jehan becomes obsessed with the beautiful Esmeralda, the adopted daughter of Clopin, King of the Beggars. Jehan is also the foster father of Quasimodo, the deaf, half-blind, hunchback bell-ringer of the Cathedral of Notre Dame. When Esmeralda is falsely accused of trying to murder Phoebus, a captain of the King’s guard, and sentenced to hang, Quasimodo protects her with deadly force from Jehan and Clopin’s army of angry beggars.
    • Cast
      • Quasimodo – Lon Chaney
      • Esmeralda – Patsy Ruth Miller
      • Don Claudio, archdeacaon of Notre Dame – Nigel De Brulier
      • Jehan – Brandon Hurst
        • In the novel, Claudio Frollo is the archdeacon, Quasimodo’s foster father, and the villain. The 1923 film split the two characters due to National Association of Motion Picture Industry policy, which forbade films to portray a member of the Roman Catholic Church negatively.
      • Clopin – Ernest Torrence
      • Phoebus – Norman Kerry
      • Gringoire – Raymond Hatton
    • Produced by Universal, earned $3.5 million
    • Many film adaptations, including
    • There have been various other film versions, TV series, operas, ballets, musicals, video games, and songs inspired by the novel
    • A few words about Lon Chaney:
      • Known as “the man of a thousand faces” – great documentary called Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces on YouTube
      • Raised in Deaf family
      • His use of sign language informed his ability to use exaggerated facial expression and body language in acting
      • Portrayed many disabled characters
        • Phantom of the Opera (1925)
        • The Penalty (Wallace Worsley, 1920), Chaney plays a man without legs who vows revenge on the doctor who botched the operation that led to the amputation of his legs
        • A Blind Bargain (Wallace Worsley, 1922, lost), horror film in which Chaney plays dual roles as a mad scientist who forces a young man to do his bidding and as a hunchback who was experimented on by the doctor
        • The Unholy Three (Tod Browning, 1925) – Chaney plays a ventriloquist who, along with two other sideshow performers, plots to become rich by swindling rich patrons of a pet store
        • The Unknown (Tod Browning, 1927) – Chaney plays a knife thrower who pretends to be armless to hide from police
  3. The Hunchback of Notre Dame Discussion  52:30
    • Overall thoughts on the film
    • Defies neat genre classification – historical epic, horror, romance
    • Quasimodo often lumped in with Universal monsters though not a villain – more tragic hero
    • Quasimodo’s look and Chaney’s performance
      • Deaf, half-blind, hunchbacked
      • Some disability scholars see this portrayal as reinforcing negative views of disability
      • Grotesque appearance and violence links to horror
      • Performance and character have quiet dignity, acts born of empathy not malice
      • Perhaps Chaney’s most nuanced and demanding performance
    • Comedy/satirical element and class struggle
    • Disability con, characters pretend to be disabled, common trope in silent film – Clopin and the beggars
    • Romance element – Jehan, Phoebus, Quasimodo all in love with Esmeralda
    • Cross-genre, driven by emotion – heavy use of melodrama as in Shakespeare or soap operas
    • The bond between Quasimodo and Esmeralda – contrasting representations of all that is ugly and stigmatized with all that is beautiful and loved – bond is platonic affection, not romance
    • The ending
    • Guest plugs
  4. Psycho Sounds  1:51:55
    • Post-Mortem with Mick Garris on the Dread Podcast Network
    • DESCRIPTION: Author, Filmmaker, Master of Horror Mick Garris, best known for his Stephen King adaptations and creating the Masters Of Horror television series, dives deep into the devious minds of the greatest filmmakers and creators of your worst nightmares to bring their distinctive visions to life in fascinating one-on-one conversations.
    • Garris not only brought his own creative contributions to the genre but also always force for bringing people together in the horror community
    • Very warm, positive figure, vegan
    • Interviews include directors, actors, writers, and artists in the genre community
    • recent guests include: Stephen King
    • Joe Hill
    • Barbara Crampton
    • Larry Fessenden
    • Adam Wingard
    • Gary Sherman
    • Ron Perlman
    • LENGTH: Hour-long Interviews released every other week, alternating with shorter half-hour “AMA” episodes where Mick answers fan questions with co-producer Joe Russo
    • SPOILERS: Generally avoided
    • WEBSITE: https://plnk.to/postmortem?to=page
    • TWITTER: @MickGarrisPM
  5. Plugs and Wrap-Up  2:00:57

There will be a transcript for this show in the future. Please contact freaksandpsychospodcast@gmail.com for any accessibility concerns.

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