This iteration of The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a must for Chaney fans, Hugo Stans, or anyone who’s seen the Disney film and is looking for something a little more true in tone to the book.

| Nov 2, 2023

Every aspect of the studio machine was working on all cylinders, yet The Hunchback of Notre Dame would have accounted for nothing without the anchoring performance by Lon Chaney.

| May 5, 2022

In The Hunchback of Notre Dame may be seen what is surely Lon Chaney's masterpiece, the best piece of character work he has done in his interesting life in the movies.

| Mar 28, 2022

Every architectural detail, from the gargoyles down, is intact. It is a stupendous scene -- so good, in fact, that a great many incredulous observers will shake their heads wisely and announce that the whole thing is no more than a clever fake.

| Oct 7, 2021

An awe-inspiring achievement, featuring magnificent sets (built on the Universal backlot), the proverbial cast of thousands (the crowd scenes are mesmerizing), and an opportunity to catch Lon Chaney at his most commanding.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Oct 2, 2021

Praise must be given to the massive sets, built on studio lots yet containing a bounty of details and incredible recreations of Parisian locales.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Jul 27, 2020

Although it is an elaborate-studied piece of work, over which much time and many dollars have been spent, it makes no tumultuous call upon our enthusiasm.

| Nov 20, 2018

Despite being 95 years old, it remains a classic. It also marks a true beginning of Universal Monster Films that would come to define horror for decades.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Oct 12, 2018

The fourth and most spectacular silent version of Victor Hugo's classic story Notre-Dame de Paris made Lon Chaney a major star.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 17, 2016

It's for [Chaney's] inimitable genius alone that this sprawling saga is now most fondly remembered.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 17, 2016

It's a total physical transformation that's often stunning to behold, selling effective make-up effects and behavior extremes with real gusto.

| Original Score: B+ | May 10, 2014

From any facet or dimension, The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a true classic in its own right due to its ambition, scope, scale and payoff. However, the real reason to see this film is the incomparable performance of one Lon Chaney.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Apr 18, 2014

Lon Chaney created a lot of twisted wretches, vengeful villains, and criminal masterminds, but Quasimodo remains his most sympathetic screen character.

| Apr 3, 2014

It's held up remarkably well.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jan 16, 2011

This classic silent film will appeal to teens.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Jan 2, 2011

Even though it diverts from the original novel, the film is still ultimately a tragic, triumphant story.

| Feb 11, 2009

It opened at Carnegie Hall instead of a regular movie house, marking it as more than a movie--an event.

| Original Score: B | Dec 24, 2008

Lon Chaney's Quasimodo is one of early cinema's most forlorn and tragic movie monsters, on par with King Kong and Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's creation.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Nov 3, 2008

Of interest today strictly for Lon Chaney's bell-ringing performance.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 13, 2007

Worth seeing mainly for Chaney's remarkable performance; even bowed and constricted by the heavy weights he used to help simulate Quasimodo's crippled gait, his body remains extraordinarily expressive.

| Jun 24, 2006