Conclusion: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)

Behind the scenes photograph

The 1923 version is one of the most important movies ever made, and it rarely gets credit for that. I think that's partially because bigger, better, and more influential films have come out since. It is also, at least in the public eye, overshadowed by RKO Studios' sound remake from 16 years later.

I think that it's more important to consider this film's influence rather than the film itself.

While not a horror film, without Hunchback's influence, or at the very least its success, the horror genre as we know it today, pioneered by Universal Studios in the '30s and '40s, would be unthinkable.

Hunchback is also one of the first great movie "epics" along with Intolerance (1916) and The Ten Commandments (1925).

It also launched the career of Lon Chaney, and brought Universal Studios to the mainstream.

I think it's also the best reference we have for what early adaptations, like Fitzball's Esmeralda, would have looked like.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) is not only an important film, but also, if you can accept its shortcomings, a very impressive and enjoyable one.