1923 Quasimodo Man or Puppy; A Character Review

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Quasimodo (Lon Chaney) Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923 picture image

Quasimodo (Lon Chaney) Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923

The 1923 version of Hunchback of Notre Dame starts and end with Quasimodo but he is not much of  a major player in the middle of film, between the pillory scene and saving Esmeralda. But since Lon Chaney gets top billing since it was he’s project Quasimodo is the main character.

Quasimodo points to at the Parisans Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923 Lon Chaney picture image

Quasimodo points to at the Parisans Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923 Lon Chaney

 

Quasimodo in this version is the closet to how  he behaves in the book. Quasimodo doesn’t like  the people of Paris and this version shows that in Quaismodo’s introductory scene as well as his connection to Notre Dame. You do get the feeling that his Quasimodo wouldn’t have saved Esmeralda if she hadn’t give him water, you get this Quasimodo may have not felt nothing which makes his loyalty to her more meaningful and it gives his character a bit of an arc.

 

Esmeralda patting Quasimodo on the head Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923 Lon Chaney with Patsy Ruth Miller picture image

Esmeralda patting Quasimodo on the head Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923 Lon Chaney with Patsy Ruth Miller

However this Quasimodo acts more like a dog that a person. A scene that showcases this perfectly is right after Quasimodo recuses Esmeralda she pats him on the head. This Quasimodo doesn’t see to be in love with Esmeralda he just seems to want to protect her. There doesn’t seem to the selfless love that in is the book and  Laughton captured  in the 1939 version.

 

Quasimodo on the Pillory Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923 Lon Chaney picture image

Quasimodo on the Pillory Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923 Lon Chaney

Quasimodo make-up may look outdated but it’s well done by Chaney and accurate to the Book. Also Chaney’s Quasimodo is a lot most acrobatic than other Quasimodos as Chaney was capable of jumping and climbing though stuntmen were used in a few instances but the 23 version is defiantly has most range of movement in a live-action film.

 

Quasimodo noticing his fatal wound Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923 Lon Chaney image picture

Quasimodo noticing his fatal wound Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923 Lon Chaney

If Quasimodo was meant to be the lead of the film and the emotional heart he does it well to a point. There some emotional confusion at the end of the movie and Quasimodo’s fate. I’m not sure how to feel that Quasimodo dies, sad, happy, bittersweet?

Quasimodo dying Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923 Lon Chaney pictuure image

Quasimodo dying Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923 Lon Chaney

Honestly I can’t gage any emotion from his death and I think that my problem with movie as a whole I don’t get an emotion or a heart of it. It has little vignettes of it but not in terms of a story that is based on a book with a very bittersweet ending.

 

Quasimodo looking sad Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923 Lon Chaney picture image

Quasimodo looking sad Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923 Lon Chaney

The 1923 is an odd Quasimodo because everything is there to make an compelling character and the film just misses the mark and makes Quasimodo more into a loyal puppy dog than a tragic hero.

Next Time – The 1923 Version of Esmeralda

Esmeralda Hunchback of Notre Dame Patsy Ruth Miller 1923 picture image

Esmeralda Hunchback of Notre Dame Patsy Ruth Miller 1923

Three Basic Problems with the Plot of the 1923 version of The Hunchback Notre Dame

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There are three basic problems with the plot the 1923 version of the Hunchback of Notre Dame; its strong adherence to parts  that don’t make any sense in the scope of the movie, the changes that had to be made to appease the almighty censors, and Lon Chaney.

Quasimodo (Lon Chaney) Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923 picture image

Quasimodo (Lon Chaney) Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923

The last problem really isn’t a problem but if you watch the opening scene you can see what I mean. The opening scene starts with the Feast of Fool and then it cuts away to Lon Chaney as Quasimodo basically mocking people from atop Notre Dame. I do appreciate that this is the only version to have Quasimodo that has a basic dislike for people like he does in the book which this scene shows nicely  but to just an awkward way to introduce Lon Chaney as Quasimodo to the viewers and it ruins the pacing and makes the beginning boring.

Jehan Frollo (Brandon Hurst) Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923 picture image

Jehan Frollo (Brandon Hurst) Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923

 

The second issue has to do with censorship laws of the time. The law that pertains to Hunchback is a  movie couldn’t cast a priest in a negative light, meaning we can’t have a Priest lusting after a women. So much like the 1939 the role of the Frollo sinner is cast on the “Jehan” character the “Claude” character is the saintly priest. Unlike the 1939 version Jehan in this version has no reason why he can’t make a straight up move on Esmeralda. Nothing is stopping him; no conflict of her being a Gypsy or no implied religious morality getting in the way. He’s just a coward with no real personality or motivation.

Esmeralda (Pasty Ruth Miller) and Jehan Frollo (Brandon Hurst) Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923 picture image

Esmeralda (Pasty Ruth Miller) and Jehan Frollo (Brandon Hurst) Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923

There is no confliction for this Jehan so there is no interest. The plot of the book is hinged on Frollo’s obsession with Esmeralda so if there is no torment where does the interest to the plot lie? Well in this case the interest to the plot is Lon Chaney’s Quasimodo, so back to that issue, remember this film started the “Quasimodo is main character” mentality that the many of the films buy in to .

 

Gudule (Gladya Brockwell) Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923 picture image

Gudule (Gladya Brockwell) Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923

The finally issue is a weird one to be an issue because when we compare movies to book there is a part of us that wishes that the movie would follow the book perfectly and we get up annoy by what the movie misses or adds. However it is hard to make a movie follow the book perfectly as they are two different median for story telling. One aspect of the book that I wish made into more movies is the Sister Gudule sub-plot. Sister Gudule is Esmeralda’s mother. The 1923 version is one of the few version to have this sub-plot however it goes no where. We get the back story of how Esmeralda was taken and we see Gudule curse her and then as Esmeralda is about to die Gudule realizes Esmeralda is her child and then I guess she dies. So Esmeralda doesn’t learn this, it amounts to nothing. It was just there because it was in the book but if Esmeralda doesn’t learns this and where is the emotion in the end what was the point?

 

Esmeralda (Pasty Ruth Miller), Phoebus (Norman Kelly) and Clopin (Ernest Torrence) Ball Scene Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923 picture image

Esmeralda (Pasty Ruth Miller), Phoebus (Norman Kelly) and Clopin (Ernest Torrence) Ball Scene Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923

Another sub-plot that was added was this division of the nobel and the poor. Now this was a bigger point in the 1939 version here’s it amount to one scene where Phoebus brings Esmeralda to a party and he dresses up and tries to pass her off as a Princess and the party is broken up by Clopin and Esmeralda sadly rejects Phoebus. Like Gudule, these scene that revolve around the classes don’t add to very much to the over all plot

 

Esmeralda (Pasty Ruth Miller) Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923 picture image

Esmeralda (Pasty Ruth Miller) Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923

It’s not that entire plot and pacing of the 1923 version is bad it’s just following the book too closely wrecked the pacing and the removal of Frollo’s torment ruins the emotional intensity.  The “Chaney being forced” to the audiences was just the opening so it wasn’t  a major problem but  it’s the reason why the film doesn’t have a very strong opening scene.

Next Time-  Characters starting with Quasimodo

Quasimodo (Lon Chaney), Esmeralda (Patsy Ruth Miller) and Gudule (Gladys Brockwell) Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923 picture image

Quasimodo (Lon Chaney), Esmeralda (Patsy Ruth Miller) and Gudule (Gladys Brockwell) Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923

 

1923 The Hunchback of Notre Dame Introdution

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Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923 Lon Chaney picture image

Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923 Lon Chaney

The 1923 version of Hunchback of Notre Dame with Lon Chaney is the oldest surviving film version but it’s by no means the oldest. The Hunchback was a project Chaney really wanted to make. Initially Universal watched it to be a star vehicle for Priscilla Dean (who appeared in a few films with Chaney like Outside the Law & The Wicked Darling) but that along with many other attempts at it fell through.

Priscilla Dean image picture

Priscilla Dean

Chaney eventually struck a deal with Universal and Chaney and Irving Thalberg (then then head of Universal) made it into something special and not just another mass-produced movie that universal had been making at the try. The 23 version in affect made Universal into bigger name studio and launch Chaney’s career. But is it a good movie? Is it a good adaptation of Hugo’s novel? If Chaney hadn’t for the most part spearhead this movie and  who Esmeralda still have been the focus  in the movies?  Would there have been the same number adaptations?  These and probably more question coming soon.

 

Next Time- The Plot

Patsy Ruth Miller as Esmeralda Hunchback chaney version 1923 picture image

Patsy Ruth Miller as Esmeralda