Maureen O’Hara as Esmeralda 1939 Hunchback of Notre Dame
As many of you may already know, yesterday Maureen O’Hara died peacefully at her home in Idaho at the age of 95.
O’Hara has been hailed as the queen of Technicolor. Her filmography was very long and included some very well regarded movies like The Quiet Man (1952), How Green was my Valley (1940), and Miracle on 34th Street (1947), just to name a few, she had many.
Hunchback of Notre Dame was her hollywood debut and I maintain that it was the best movie version of Hunchback.
I do recommend reading her autobiography
In her autobiography, written with longtime manager John Nicoletti, O’Hara wrote:
“When I was young, I didn’t think I was at all pretty. I was told only that I had a sulky, pouty face. Ironically, after I got to Hollywood, I resented that I didn’t get a crack at more dramatic role because I photographed so beautifully. More than anything, though, it was the way I used my eyes that caused audiences to look deep inside my characters to see what else was there.”