The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)

Country of Origin: USA
Year of Production: 1939
Running Times: 116 mins
Format: black and white (computer colourised version also available)     35mm
Ratio: 1.37:1
Sound: mono

PRODUCTION
Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures Inc
Producer: Pandro S. Berman

SCRIPT
Script: Sonya Levien
Adaptation: Bruno Frank
Novel: Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo

DIRECTION
Director: William Dieterle
Assistant Director: Edward Killy, Argyle Nelson

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Joseph H. August

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editors: William Hamilton, Robert Wise

MUSIC
Music: Alfred Newman, Tomás Luis de Victoria (uncredited)
Song: Tomás Luis de Victoria (Ave Maria)
Music Adaptor: Alfred Newman

SOUND
Sound Recordist: John E. Tribby
Sound System: RCA Victor System

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Make Up: George Bau, Gordon Bau, Robert J. Schiffer (all uncredited)
Costume Designer: Walter Plunkett

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects: Vernon L. Walker

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Art Director: Van Nest Polglase
Associate Art Director: Al Herman
Set Decorator: Darrell Silvera
Background Paintings: Chesley Bonestell

MISCELLANEOUS
Assistant to William Dieterle: Peter Berneis
Dance Director: Ernst Matray
Dialogue Director: Will Price
Technical Advisor: Louis Vandenecker

STUNTS
Stunts: Dick Crockett, George Suzanne, Sailor Vincent (all uncredited)

CAST
Charles Laughton (Quasimodo)
Sir Cedric Hardwicke (Frollo)
Thomas Mitchell (Clopin)
Maureen O'Hara (Esmeralda)
Edmond O'Brien (Gringoire)
Alan Marshal (Phoebus)
Walter Hampden (Archdeacon)
Harry Davenport (King Louis XI)
Katharine Alexander (Madame de Lys)
George Zucco (Procurator)
Fritz Leiber (old nobleman)
Etienne Girardot (doctor)
Helene Whitney (Fleur de Lys)
Mina Gombell (Queen of Beggars)
Arthur Hohl (Olivier)
Curt Bois (student)
George Tobias (the one-eyed beggar-hangman)
Rod LaRocque (Phillipe)
Spencer Charters (court clerk)
Kathryn Adams (Fluer's companion)
Siegfried Arno (tailor)
Peter Godfrey (monk)
Alexander Granach (soldier)
Otto Hoffman (deaf judge)
Elmo Lincoln
Norbert Schiller (Saturn)
Gisela Werbesik (grandmother)
Earl Clyde (festival juggler - uncredited)
Alan Copeland (choirboy - uncredited)
Jack Curtis (uncredited)
Charles Drake (bit part - uncredited)
James Fawcett (festival ball-walker - uncredited)
Charles Halton (Fisher the printer - uncredited)
Rondo Hatton (first ugly man contestant - uncredited)
Cy Kendall (nobleman - uncredited)
Victor Kilian (Esmeralda's hangman - uncredited)
Ray Long (festival skeleton dancer - uncredited)
Angela Malmos (Helene - uncredited)
Paul Newlan (Quasimodo's flogger - uncredited)
Nestor Paiva (man in street - uncredited)
Russ Powell (second ugly man contestant - uncredited)
Ward Shattuck (festival juggler - uncredited)
Alan Spear (festival contortionist - uncredited)

PLOT SUMMARY

Frollo, the Chief Justice to King Louis XI, has designs on the gypsy girl Esmeralda and despatches Quasimodo, the hunchbacked bell-ringer at Notre Dame cathedral, to capture her. But Quasimodo is caught in the act by Phoebus, Captain of the Guards and he is sentenced to be flogged in public. As he waits his fate, tied to a stone block in the square, Esmerelda visits him to give him water. But then she is framed for killing Phoebus by Frollo and sentenced to hang...

The definitive screen version of the oft-filmed tale, with Laughton at the height of his powers as Quasimodo and Maureen O'Hara his perfect co-star as Esmerelda. The script perfectly captures the emotional resonances of Hugo's novel and Dieterle's direction is nothing short of masterly. Add to this vivid set design and an excellent score and you've got one of the truly great Hollywood horrors.

USA
Theatrical Distributor: RKO Radio Pictures Inc
Video Distributors: Media Home Entertainment; Nostalgia Merchant; RKO Home Video; Turner Home Video; VidAmerica
Laserdisc Distributor: Image Entertainment Inc (ID 6402 TU)
DVD Distributor: Warner Home Video (T2058)

Finland
Rating: K-16

Sweden
Rating: 15

USA
Rating: Approved (PCA #5504)

AWARDS

1940
Academy Awards, USA
Best Music, Scoring (Alfred Newman) - nominated
Best Sound, Recording (John Aalberg) - nominated

1939
September
1: France – shown at th eCannes Film Festival

December
31: USA – theatrical release

1940
April
8: Sweden – theatrical release

1941
January
2: Denmark – theatrical release

March
30: Finland – theatrical release

1962
January
6: UK - television broadcast (on BBC)

August
19: UK - television broadcast (on BBC)

1982
November
4: UK - television broadcast (on BBC2)

1987
September
5: UK - television broadcast (on BBC2)

1997
December
16: USA - DVD release (Warner Home Video (T2058))

1998
March
2: UK - television broadcast (on Channel 5)

2000
April
7: UK - television broadcast (on Sky Cinema)

2002
November
18: UK - television broadcast (on BBC)

Dzwonnik z Notre Dame – Polish title
Esmeralda, la zíngara – Spanish title
El geperut de Notre-Dame – Spanish Catalan title
Der Glöckner von Notre Dame – Austrian / German title
Klokkeren fra Notre Dame – Danish title
Notre Dame – Italian title
Notre Damen kellonsoittaja – Finnish title
Quasimodo – French title
Ringaren i Notre Dame – Swedish title

SEE ALSO
Big Man on Campus (1989)
The Darling of Paris (1917)
Esmeralda (1905)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1977)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1982)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
The Hunchback (1997)
Nanbanji no semushi-otoko (1957)
Notre Dame de Paris (1956)
Quasimodo d'El Paris (1999)

FOOTAGE INCLUDED IN
100 Years at the Movies (1994)
AFI's 100 Years, 100 Passions (2002)
That's Action (1977)

MAGAZINES

Classic Images no.102 (December 1983) pp.57-59 (USA)
review

The Dark Side no.64 p.26 (UK)
review

Fangoria no.151 (April 1996) pp.36, 37 (USA)
illustrated note

Kinematograph Weekly no.1711 (1 February 1940) (UK)
review

Kinematograph Weekly no.2586 (7 March 1957) p.19 (UK)
credits, review

Monthly Film Bulletin vol.7 no.74 (February 1940) p.21 (UK)
credits, synopsis, review

Motion Picture Herald vol.137 no.12 (23 Decemebre 1939) (USA)
review

Radio Times 1 - 7 April 2000 p.73 (UK)
review (by Tony Sloman)

Télérama no.1839 (10 April 1985) pp.94-95 (France)
review

Today's Cinema vol.54 no.4371 (31 January 1940) (UK)
review

Today's Cinema vol.75 no.6128 (20 November 1950) p.6 (UK)
review

KEYWORDS

battering rams; bells; bell ringers; book into film; cathedrals; churches; disfigurement; france; gypsies; hunchbacks; torture