VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Animenter There are women in the film, but none has anything you could call a personality.

Johan Louwet Well for those that only have seen the Disney version I would suggest to watch a non-animated version that stays more truthful to the real story with its tragic ending instead of the happy one in the animation. This might not be the best or most truthful portrayal of the story as I have not read the novel and I have only seen one other version (other than the Disney version) of the movie but can't remember which and don't remember much of it. That said I don't think I need to see another version as I thought this version was fantastic and gripping with wonderful performances from the cast. They call Lon Chaney with good reason the man with a 1000 faces and every movie he plays in seems an instant success. Of course he played the title role. The role of a handicapped or deformed he could play as the best and as always his make-up is splendid as he is unrecognizable. It almost looks like he is a real deformed. It's great how he swings through ropes and crawls like a monkey over the walls of the mighty cathedral. The whole movie is grotesque with the end fight as climax. The story however focuses even more on Esmeralda the gypsy dancer played by the beautiful Patsy Ruth Miller and adopted daughter of Clopin (Ernest Torrence), the king of the beggars. Beautiful and touching are her interactions with Quasimodo and with captain of the royal guard Phoebus de Chateaupers played by Norman Kerry. The story couldn't be any better I think except maybe how they handled the death of Esmeralda's mother, otherwise a movie that is hard to be critical of.

Rainey Dawn The Hunchback of Notre Dame is another sad story about a disfigured man falling in love with a beautiful lady. Although a work of fiction, the film is a borderline horror film much like the Joseph Merrick's story (see: The Elephant Man 1980 - which is based on true life of Merrick) yet the two stories are completely different.Lon Chaney, Sr. played the part of Quasimodo so believably well. Just simply brilliant. The rest of the cast in this silent film classic is also great - wonderful performances.If you liked this movie then try to find copies of 'London after Midnight' and 'The Phantom of the Opera' - both starring Lon Chaney, Sr.9/10

MissSimonetta This early adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame shares much in common with Universal's later film, The Phantom of the Opera: the sets are great and Lon Chaney is great, but everything else is subpar, including the pedestrian direction of Wallace Worsely.Lon Chaney never gave a bad performance and his performance as Quasimodo was one of his finest moments, both as an actor and as a make-up artist. His is the only fully realized performance in the film and unfortunately, he gets little screen time in comparison to the bloodless love affair between Esmeralda and Phoebus, played by Patsy Ruth Miller and Norman Kerry. Miller does pretty well, though Kerry is pallid and underwhelming, just as he was opposite Chaney in Phantom and The Unknown.I'm not too sure why this is often classified as a horror picture, though it does have its creepy moments, such as Quasimodo stalking Esmeralda at night, intent on kidnapping her for his lecherous master.Overall, this is an alright movie, but nothing compared to the 1939 version, which has more depth and feels more iconic.

lepoisson-1 This movie is an awesome production from start to finish. When there's a mob scene, it's a full tilt mob. The "Court of Miracles" is really populated by hundreds of Paris' "down and outs." Watching the hunchback navigate the façade of Notre Dame is breathtaking. Universal spared nothing making this picture, and it shows. And of course, Lon Chaney as the hunchback was both believable and repulsive.I cannot add much that hasn't already been said. I cannot recommend this movie highly enough, from viewpoints of both historical importance and pure entertainment. Finally, I recommend checking out Charles Laughton as the hunchback in the 1939 version; it too is a superb interpretation of Hugo's novel.