''The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' was a

1911 A notable ongoing event was the race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * ...

French

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

directed by

Albert Capellani Albert Capellani (23 August 1874 – 26 September 1931) was a French film director and screenwriter of the silent era. He directed films between 1905 and 1922. One of his brothers was the actor-sculptor Paul Capellani, and another, film dir ...

and produced by

Pathé Frères Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest film equipme ...

. It was released under the name ''Notre-Dame de Paris''. It starred

Henry Krauss Henry Krauss (26 April 1866 – 15 December 1935) was a French actor of stage and screen. He is sometimes credited as Henri Krauss. He was the father of the art director Jacques Krauss. Partial filmography * ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame' ...

and

Stacia Napierkowska Stacia Napierkowska (born Renée Claire Angèle Élisabeth Napierkowski, 16 September 1891 – 11 May 1945) was a French actress, dancer, and director who worked during the silent film era. She appeared in 86 films between 1908 and 1926. Biog ...

. The film was based on the 1831

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

of the same name. Considering the film's brief running time, critic Christopher Workman considered it "remarkably faithful to its source material" but it "contains no discernible humor, unlike most other horror films of the period, and thus represents a bellwether of sorts for the genre....(Henry Krauss as Quasimodo) "looks remarkably like Charles Ogle in (Thomas) Edison's 1910 ''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ...

''." Although the film vilified organized Christianity by portraying members of the clergy as "sadistic and duplicitous", it was theatrically released in the USA in December 1911, shortly before Christmas.

Plot

Esmeralda, a Romani girl, is the darling of the people around Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Three men are romantically interested in her: Phöebus, the commander of the city guard, Quasimodo the bell ringer of Notre Dame and Claudius Frollo, the archdeacon of the cathedral. The latter, however, is confused by his strong affection for Esmeralda and cannot resolve the conflict caused by his vow of celibacy. Out of jealousy, he stabs a knife in Phöebus's back when he meets with Esmeralda in an inn. Esmeralda is falsely accused and charged with this crime. The resultant death sentence is to be executed on the forecourt of the cathedral. Quasimodo rescues Esmeralda and brings her up into the bell tower to safety but Frollo violates the sanctuary and has Esmeralda executed by hanging. Quasimodo then angrily throws Frollo from the bell tower to his death.

Cast

as Quasimodo *

as Esméralda *

René Alexandre René Alexandre (22 December 1885 – 19 August 1946) was a French actor. René Alexandre was born in Reims and died in Vitré, Ille-et-Vilaine in 1946. He was married to actress Gabrielle Robinne from 1912 until his death. Filmography ...

as Phoebus de Châteaupers *Claude Garry as

Claude Frollo ''Monseigneur'' Claude Frollo () is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Victor Hugo's 1831 novel ''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (known in French as ''Notre-Dame de Paris''). He is the Archdeacon of Notre Dame, as well as an Alche ...

* Jean Angelo *

Paul Capellani Paul Capellani (September 9, 1877 – November 7, 1960) was a noted French silent film actor. His brother was the director Albert Capellani and his uncle the film director Roger Capellani who died May 1940 at the Battle of Dunkirk. He starred ...

Jean Dax Jean Dax (born Gontran-Théodore-Louis-Henri Willar; 17 September 1879 – 6 June 1962) was a French actor who appeared in more than seventy films during his career. He appeared in Maurice Tourneur's 1928 film '' The Crew''Waldman, p. 142 Select ...

*Mévisto

References

External links

* 1911 films 1910s historical drama films French black-and-white films French historical drama films French silent short films Films directed by Albert Capellani Films based on The Hunchback of Notre-Dame Films set in Paris Films set in religious buildings and structures Films set in the 1480s 1911 drama films Films about Romani people Silent drama films Silent horror films 1910s French films {{1910s-France-film-stub