Characters: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)

Lon Chaney as Quasimodo

Lon Chaney plays Quasimodo as very bestial and grotesque, and it is likely that this is the element of the character that appealed to him. Chaney was an actor who excelled with bizarre and demanding roles. His talents earned him the nickname of "the man of a thousand faces."

He went through a lengthy and painful makeup process for the role. Chaney's Quasimodo looks as if he stepped right out of the Victor Hugo novel.

The more emotional elements of Quasimodo are not as explored here as in the novel. The filmmakers seem more interested in showing Chaney flick his tongue and climb about Notre Dame than they are in showing his pathos. When those parts do show up, Chaney plays them beautifully. Like his tongue flicking and limp, Chaney plays the role as an animal. He allows Esmeralda to pet his head like a loyal dog. Chaney's efforts paid off in spades. He's the most memorable thing about this movie.

Patsy Ruth Miller as Esmeralda

Patsy Ruth Miller's depiction of Esmeralda is seen as the most accurate depiction of the character on film according to Victor Hugo's decedents.The actress herself was irritated by the fact that people only recognized her "for being in The Hunchback," and not her other movie and radio roles.

 The role isn't very different than many previous dramatic adaptations. She's not to far off from the way the character was shown in Louise Bertin's La Esmeralda or in Edward Fitzball's The Deformed of Notre Dame. Very innocent, a "child of mystery," as a title card describes her.

Brandon Hurst as Jehan

Brandon Hurst plays Jehan, who is essentially this adaptation's substitute for Claude Frollo. The reason the change of character was made is fairly simple. Negative portrayals of clergymen were taboo, even in edgier pre-code silent films. Thus Jehan, Frollo's profligate brother, a very minor character in the book, is made into the villain, and a decidedly more secular one.

Hurst plays the character competently, but he's not allowed to explore the role in a unique or meaningful way. He's not in the movie enough to be a consistent threat. The audience starts to forget about him because the film is so concerned with Phoebus and Esmeralda's love story. Jehan, because of this, is not a very interesting or useful character.

I'll give him this though. He sure pioneered the cliche "holding cape over face to look spooky" gag.

Norman Kerry as Phoebus

Phoebus is the exact opposite of how he was in the novel. Again, a heroic Phoebus, along with a lovesick Esmeralda and secular Frollo, is a carry-on from decades of adaptations doing the same sort of thing. He's not a particularly compelling take on this trope if I am being honest..

That doesn't mean the character is bad necessarily, but a leading man needs to do more than smile and stroke his mustache. In 1923, this type of characterization was typical, perhaps even encouraged. In retrospect, it's dated considerably. Norman Kerry really hams it up here. He's the apotheosis of every silent film hero ever.

Ernest Torrence as Clopin

Clopin, the "king of the underworld," is more developed than in the novel. He has a strong disdain for authority and dreams of a rebellion. He has a greater connection to Esmeralda, having bought her from Gypsies. He's a father figure to her, and tries his best to look out for her.

Gringoire, played in this film by actor Raymond Hatton is purely a comedic relief character. Unlike Edward Fitzball's Gringoire, he's actually funny. Also, as in that play, he is a sidekick of sorts to Captain Phoebus.

The actor just has a great look for the character, and truly takes advantage of pantomime to convey the role, as much as he can, physically. I really wish that he was in it more.

Next: Costumes and Makeup

Raymond Hatton as Pierre Gringoire