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The Hunchback of Notre Dame is the film that made Lon Chaney a bona fide superstar. Incredibly, despite its release date, this was already like the sixth or seventh film adaption of Victor Hugo's novel about a gypsy girl falsely accused of murder and the malformed bellringer who comes to her rescue. This was the first real classic interpretation of the tale, though, thanks mostly to Chaney's astounding body and soul performance as Quasimodo. Sure, Laughton arguably outdid him in 1939 and a whole generation of 90's kids swear by the Disney version, but Chaney set the standard. Of course, I could be biased, as anyone who built Aurora monster model kits as a kid will always have a soft spot for this rendition of the character.
TIL: Being somewhat accustomed to (though still irritated by) Hollywood's tendency to show the Church in the worst possible light, it's always interesting to see how many filmed versions of The Hunchback of Notre Dame actually do the opposite. As with other adaptations, this one changes the antagonist of the novel, the corrupted Archdeacon Frollo, into Quasi's benign benefactor, while assigning main villain duties to a non-religious type. Alas, this change was probably a financial decision, as Hollywood at the time was facing almost one hundred separate film censorship bills in 37 states due to a string of recent scandals. What, you thought they did it because they had an actual come-to-Jesus moment?
Freeze Frames #018: Nice of this guy to sit still and pose for me. - "The restless grasshopper only finds rest in the gizzard of a bird." - African Proverb.
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