The Hunchback of Notre Dame ( 1939 film ) - wikipedia The Hunchback of Notre Dame ( 1939 film ) Jump to : navigation , search The Hunchback of Notre Dame Theatrical poster Directed by William Dieterle Produced by Pandro S. Berman Screenplay by Sonya Levien Bruno Frank ( adaptation ) Based on The Hunchback of Notre - Dame by Victor Hugo Starring Charles Laughton Sir Cedric Hardwicke Thomas Mitchell Maureen O'Hara Edmond O'Brien Alan Marshal Walter Hampden Music by Alfred Newman ( musical adaptation and original composition ) Cinematography Joseph H. August A.S.C. Edited by William Hamilton Robert Wise Distributed by RKO Radio Pictures , Inc . Release date December 29 , 1939 ( 1939 - 12 - 29 ) Running time 116 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $1,826,000 Box office $3,155,000 The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1939 American film starring Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara . Directed by William Dieterle and produced by Pandro S. Berman , the film is based on Victor Hugo 's 1831 novel of the same name . For this production RKO Radio Pictures built on their movie ranch a massive medieval city of Paris and Notre Dame Cathedral , one of the largest and most extravagant sets ever constructed . Contents ( hide ) 1 Plot 1.1 Prologue 1.2 Synopsis 2 Cast 3 Difference from the novel 4 Award nominations 5 Reception 6 Home video 7 References 8 External links Plot ( edit ) Prologue ( edit ) `` With the end of the 15th century , the Middle Ages came to a close . Europe began to see great changes . France , ravaged by a hundred years of War , at last found peace . The people under Louis XI felt free to hope again ~ to dream of progress . But superstition and prejudice often stood in the way , seeking to crush the adventurous spirit of man . '' Synopsis ( edit ) The film opens with Louis XI , the King of France , and Frollo , the King 's Chief Justice of Paris , visiting a printing shop . Frollo is determined to do everything in his power to rid Paris of anything he sees as evil , including the printing press and gypsies , who at the time are persecuted and prohibited from entering Paris . That day is Paris ' annual celebration , the Feast of Fools . Esmeralda , a young gypsy girl , is seen dancing in front of an audience of people . Quasimodo , the hunchback and bell ringer of Notre Dame Cathedral , is crowned the King of Fools until Frollo catches up to him and takes him back to the church . Esmeralda is caught by guards for entering Paris without a permit and is being chased after until she seeks safety in Notre Dame , in which the Archbishop of Paris , Frollo 's brother , protects her . She prays to the Virgin Mary to help her fellow gypsies only to be confronted by Frollo , who accuses her of being a heathen . Afterwards , she asks King Louis to help her people , to which he agrees . Frollo then takes her up to the bell tower where they encounter Quasimodo , of whom she is frightened . She tries to run away from the hunchback until he catches up to her and physically carries her away . Pierre Gringoire , a poor street poet , witnesses all this , and calls out to Captain Phoebus and his guards , who capture Quasimodo just in time . Esmeralda is then saved and starts falling in love with Phoebus . Gringoire later trespasses the Court of Miracles but is saved by Esmeralda from hanging by marrying him . The next day , Quasimodo is sentenced to be lashed in the square and publicly humiliated afterwards . Frollo , seeing this , realizes that he ca n't stop the sentence because it already happened , and abandons him instead . However , Esmeralda arrives and gives him water , and this awakens Quasimodo 's love for her . Later that night , Esmeralda is invited by the nobles to their party . Frollo shows up to the party , where he confesses to Esmeralda his lust for her . Afterwards , she dances in front of the nobles and moves away from the crowd with Phoebus to a garden where they share a moment between each other . Frollo then kills Phoebus out of jealousy , and Esmeralda is wrongly accused of his death . Afterwards , Gringoire visits Esmeralda in her prison cell to console her . Frollo confesses the crime to his brother , and , knowing that the Archbishop refuses to help him because he is the murderer , intends to sentence Esmeralda to death for it ( which he does ) , saying that she has `` bewitched '' him . When Esmeralda is taken in front of Notre Dame to do public penance , the Archbishop claims her innocence and does not allow her to do penance . However , Frollo still orders Esmeralda to be hanged in the gallows , but just as this is about to happen , Quasimodo saves her by taking her to the cathedral . When Gringoire and Clopin realize that the nobles are planning to revoke Notre Dame 's right of sanctuary , they both try different methods in order to save Esmeralda from hanging . Gringoire writes a pamphlet that will prevent this from happening , and Clopin leads the beggars to storm the cathedral . At the Palace of Justice , Frollo reads the pamphlet to King Louis . After seeing a crowd protesting against the removal of Notre Dame 's sanctuary law , the King realizes that the pamphlet is creating public opinion , which can influence kings to make decisions . However , Frollo warns him that public opinion is dangerous . After the Archbishop arrives to inform the King of Notre Dame 's attack and that Esmeralda is innocent , Frollo confesses his crime to the King , for which Louis orders Olivier to arrest him . Afterwards , the King talks to Gringoire after reading his pamphlet . Meanwhile , Quasimodo and the guards of Paris fight off Clopin and the beggars . Afterwards , he sees Frollo in the bell tower seeking to harm Esmeralda , and throws him off the cathedral top . Later that morning , Esmeralda is pardoned by the King and freed from hanging , and her Gypsy people are also finally freed . Then , she leaves with Gringoire and a huge crowd out of the public square . The film makes it clear that in the end Esmeralda truly loves Gringoire . Quasimodo sees all this from high on the cathedral and says sadly to a gargoyle , `` Why was I not made of stone , like thee ? '' , and the film ends . Cast ( edit ) Maureen O'Hara as Esmeralda Charles Laughton as Quasimodo Cedric Hardwicke as Frollo Thomas Mitchell as Clopin Maureen O'Hara as Esmeralda Edmond O'Brien as Gringoire Alan Marshal as Phoebus Walter Hampden as Archbishop Harry Davenport as King Louis XI Katharine Alexander as Fleur 's mother George Zucco as Procurator Fritz Leiber as Old nobleman Etienne Girardot as Doctor Helene Whitney as Fleur Mina Gombell as Queen of beggars Arthur Hohl as Olivier Curt Bois as Student George Tobias as Beggar Rod La Rocque as Phillipo Spencer Charters as Court clerk Kathryn Adams as Fleur 's companion Dianne Hunter as Fleur 's companion Siegfried Arno as Tailor Difference from the novel ( edit ) This section does not cite any sources . Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . ( December 2017 ) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message ) The characters of Claude Frollo and Jehan Frollo are changed from the novel , as was done in the 1923 film . In the novel , Claude is depicted as a villainous archdeacon ; in the film he is good . His younger brother Jehan , who in the novel is a young , drunken student , is in the film an elderly villain who is a judge and a close advisor to the king . Award nominations ( edit ) The film was nominated for two Academy Awards : Academy Award for Best Original Music Score ( Alfred Newman ) Academy Award for Best Sound ( John Aalberg ) Reception ( edit ) Frank S. Nugent of The New York Times wrote a mostly negative review of the film , finding it `` little more '' than `` a freak show '' . Though he acknowledged it was `` handsome enough of production and its cast is expert , '' he called it `` almost unrelievedly brutal and without the saving grace of unreality which makes Frankenstein 's horrors a little comic . '' Variety called the film a `` super thriller - chiller '' but found that the elaborate sets tended to overwhelm the story , particularly in the first half . Harrison 's Reports wrote , `` Very good ! Audiences should be thrilled anew by this lavish remake of Victor Hugo 's famous novel . '' Film Daily called it `` compelling , dynamic entertainment . '' John Mosher of The New Yorker wrote that Laughton `` achieves something like a tour de force . The lines themselves ( such modernisms as ' to buy protection ' ) , along with a perfunctory plot arrangement , are among the weak features of the film , which otherwise is a vivid pictorial drama of fifteenth - century Paris . '' E.H. Harvey of The Harvard Crimson said that the film `` in all is more than entertaining . '' He said that `` the mediocre effects offer a forceful contrast to the great moments '' in the film . The movie was very popular but because of its cost only made a profit of $100,000 . Home video ( edit ) The Hunchback of Notre Dame was released on September 21 , 2001 on DVD by Image Entertainment . It was issued on Blu - ray disc by Warner Brothers on June 9 , 2015 . References ( edit ) Jump up ^ Hanson , Patricia King , ed. ( 1993 ) . The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States : Feature Films , 1931 - 1940 . Berkeley and Los Angeles : University of California Press . p. 976 . ISBN 0 - 520 - 07908 - 6 . ^ Jump up to : Richard Jewel , ' RKO Film Grosses : 1931 - 1951 ' , Historical Journal of Film Radio and Television , Vol 14 No 1 , 1994 p56 Jump up ^ Variety film review ; December 20 , 1939 , page 14 . Jump up ^ Harrison 's Reports film review ; December 23 , 1939 , page 202 . ^ Jump up to : `` The Hunchback of Notre Dame '' . AFI Catalog of Feature Films . American Film Institute . Retrieved 2017 - 10 - 24 . Jump up ^ `` The 12th Academy Awards ( 1940 ) Nominees and Winners '' . oscars.org . Retrieved 2011 - 08 - 12 . Jump up ^ Nugent , Frank S. ( January 1 , 1940 ) . `` Movie Review - The Hunchback of Notre Dame '' . The New York Times . The New York Times Company . Retrieved September 18 , 2015 . Jump up ^ `` Film Reviews '' . Variety . New York : Variety , Inc . December 20 , 1939 . p. 14 . Jump up ^ `` The Hunchback of Notre Dame '' . Harrison 's Reports . New York : Harrison 's Reports , Inc. : 202 December 23 , 1939 . Jump up ^ `` Reviews of the New Films '' . Film Daily . New York : Wid 's Films & Film Folk , Inc. : 4 December 15 , 1939 . Jump up ^ Mosher , John ( December 30 , 1939 ) . `` The Current Cinema '' . The New Yorker . New York : F-R Publishing Corp. p. 51 . Jump up ^ Harvey , E.H. `` The Hunchback of Notre Dame . '' The Harvard Crimson . Wednesday December 16 , 1953 . Retrieved on February 20 , 2010 . External links ( edit ) Wikiquote has quotations related to : The Hunchback of Notre Dame ( 1939 film ) The Hunchback of Notre Dame on IMDb The Hunchback of Notre Dame at AllMovie The Hunchback of Notre Dame at the TCM Movie Database The Hunchback of Notre Dame at the American Film Institute Catalog The films of William Dieterle Man by the Wayside ( 1923 ) Behind the Altar ( 1927 ) The Saint and Her Fool ( 1928 ) Sex in Chains ( 1928 ) Rustle of Spring ( 1929 ) Ludwig II , King of Bavaria ( 1929 ) Triumph of Love ( 1929 ) The Brandenburg Arch ( 1929 ) Silence in the Forest ( 1929 ) The Dance Goes On ( 1930 ) Kismet ( 1931 ) The Mask Falls ( 1931 ) Demon of the Sea ( 1931 ) One Hour of Happiness ( 1931 ) The Sacred Flame ( 1931 ) The Last Flight ( 1931 ) Her Majesty , Love ( 1931 ) Man Wanted ( 1932 ) Jewel Robbery ( 1932 ) The Crash ( 1932 ) Six Hours to Live ( 1932 ) Scarlet Dawn ( 1932 ) Lawyer Man ( 1933 ) Adorable ( 1933 ) The Devil 's in Love ( 1933 ) Grand Slam ( 1933 ) Female ( 1933 ) From Headquarters ( 1933 ) Fog Over Frisco ( 1934 ) Fashions of 1934 ( 1934 ) Madame Du Barry ( 1934 ) Dr. Monica ( 1934 ) The Firebird ( 1934 ) The Secret Bride ( 1934 ) A Midsummer Night 's Dream ( 1935 ) Dr. Socrates ( 1935 ) The Story of Louis Pasteur ( 1935 ) The White Angel ( 1936 ) Satan Met a Lady ( 1936 ) The Great O'Malley ( 1937 ) The Prince and the Pauper ( 1937 ) Another Dawn ( 1937 ) The Life of Emile Zola ( 1937 ) Blockade ( 1938 ) Juarez ( 1939 ) The Hunchback of Notre Dame ( 1939 ) Dr. Ehrlich 's Magic Bullet ( 1940 ) A Dispatch from Reuter 's ( 1940 ) The Devil and Daniel Webster ( 1941 ) Syncopation ( 1942 ) Tennessee Johnson ( 1943 ) Kismet ( 1944 ) I 'll Be Seeing You ( 1944 ) Love Letters ( 1945 ) This Love of Ours ( 1945 ) The Searching Wind ( 1946 ) Duel in the Sun ( 1946 ) Portrait of Jennie ( 1948 ) The Accused ( 1949 ) Rope of Sand ( 1949 ) Paid in Full ( 1950 ) Vulcano ( 1950 ) September Affair ( 1950 ) Dark City ( 1950 ) Peking Express ( 1951 ) Red Mountain ( 1951 ) Boots Malone ( 1952 ) The Turning Point ( 1952 ) Salome ( 1953 ) Elephant Walk ( 1954 ) Magic Fire ( 1955 ) Omar Khayyam ( 1957 ) Dubrowsky ( 1959 ) Mistress of the World ( 1960 ) Carnival Confession ( 1960 ) Quick , Let 's Get Married ( 1964 ) The Hunchback of Notre - Dame by Victor Hugo Characters Quasimodo Esmeralda Claude Frollo Captain Phoebus Clopin Trouillefou Pierre Gringoire Films Esmeralda ( 1905 ) The Hunchback of Notre Dame ( 1911 ) The Darling of Paris ( 1917 ) Esmeralda ( 1922 ) The Hunchback of Notre Dame ( 1923 ) The Hunchback of Notre Dame ( 1939 ) The Hunchback of Notre Dame ( 1956 ) The Hunchback of Notre Dame ( 1966 ) The Hunchback of Notre Dame ( 1977 ) The Hunchback of Notre Dame ( 1982 ) The Hunchback of Notre Dame ( 1986 ) The Hunchback of Notre Dame ( 1996 ) The Hunchback ( 1997 ) Quasimodo d'El Paris ( 1999 ) The Hunchback of Notre Dame II ( 2002 ) Opera La Esmeralda ( 1836 ) Esmeralda ( 1883 ) Ballet La Esmeralda ( 1844 ) Notre Dame de Paris ( 1967 ) Musicals Notre - Dame de Paris ( 1998 ) The Hunchback of Notre Dame ( 1999 ) Klokkeren fra Notre Dame ( 2002 ) Music `` The Bells of Notre Dame '' `` Out There '' `` Topsy Turvy '' `` God Help the Outcasts '' `` Heaven 's Light '' `` Hellfire '' `` A Guy Like You '' `` The Court of Miracles '' `` Someday '' `` Made of Stone '' Video games Hunchback ( 1983 ) The Hunchback of Notre Dame : Topsy Turvy Games ( 1996 ) Disney 's Animated Storybook : The Hunchback of Notre Dame ( 1996 ) Related Disney franchise Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Hunchback_of_Notre_Dame_(1939_film)&oldid=821479536 '' Categories : 1939 films English - language films 1930s drama films 1930s historical films American films American drama films American historical films American black - and - white films Films based on The Hunchback of Notre - Dame American film remakes Sound film remakes of silent films Films set in the 1480s RKO Pictures films Films directed by William Dieterle Films produced by Pandro S. Berman Screenplays by Sonya Levien Films scored by Alfred Newman Hidden categories : Articles needing additional references from December 2017 All articles needing additional references Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote Català Deutsch Ελληνικά فارسی Français Italiano Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский Simple English Suomi Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 20 January 2018 , at 19 : 01 . Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply . By using this site , you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy . Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation , Inc. , a non-profit organization . About Wikipedia 
who played in the hunchback of notre dame
The Hunchback of Notre Dame Theatrical poster Directed by William Dieterle Produced by Pandro S. Berman Screenplay by Sonya Levien Bruno Frank ( adaptation ) Based on The Hunchback of Notre - Dame by Victor Hugo Starring Charles Laughton Sir Cedric Hardwicke Thomas Mitchell Maureen O'Hara Edmond O'Brien Alan Marshal Walter Hampden Music by Alfred Newman ( musical adaptation and original composition ) Cinematography Joseph H. August A.S.C. Edited by William Hamilton Robert Wise Distributed by RKO Radio Pictures , Inc . Release date December 29 , 1939 ( 1939 - 12 - 29 ) Running time 116 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $1,826,000 Box office $3,155,000 The Hunchback of Notre Dame Theatrical poster Directed by William Dieterle Produced by Pandro S. Berman Screenplay by Sonya Levien Bruno Frank ( adaptation ) Based on The Hunchback of Notre - Dame by Victor Hugo Starring Charles Laughton Sir Cedric Hardwicke Thomas Mitchell Maureen O'Hara Edmond O'Brien Alan Marshal Walter Hampden Music by Alfred Newman ( musical adaptation and original composition ) Cinematography Joseph H. August A.S.C. Edited by William Hamilton Robert Wise Distributed by RKO Radio Pictures , Inc . Release date December 29 , 1939 ( 1939 - 12 - 29 ) December 29 , 1939 ( 1939 - 12 - 29 ) December 29 , 1939 ( 1939 - 12 - 29 ) Running time 116 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $1,826,000 Box office $3,155,000 The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1939 American film starring Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara . Directed by William Dieterle and produced by Pandro S. Berman , the film is based on Victor Hugo 's 1831 novel of the same name . For this production RKO Radio Pictures built on their movie ranch a massive medieval city of Paris and Notre Dame Cathedral , one of the largest and most extravagant sets ever constructed . `` With the end of the 15th century , the Middle Ages came to a close . Europe began to see great changes . France , ravaged by a hundred years of War , at last found peace . The people under Louis XI felt free to hope again ~ to dream of progress . But superstition and prejudice often stood in the way , seeking to crush the adventurous spirit of man . '' The film opens with Louis XI , the King of France , and Frollo , the King 's Chief Justice of Paris , visiting a printing shop . Frollo is determined to do everything in his power to rid Paris of anything he sees as evil , including the printing press and gypsies , who at the time are persecuted and prohibited from entering Paris . That day is Paris ' annual celebration , the Feast of Fools . Esmeralda , a young gypsy girl , is seen dancing in front of an audience of people . Quasimodo , the hunchback and bell ringer of Notre Dame Cathedral , is crowned the King of Fools until Frollo catches up to him and takes him back to the church . Esmeralda is caught by guards for entering Paris without a permit and is being chased after until she seeks safety in Notre Dame , in which the Archbishop of Paris , Frollo 's brother , protects her . She prays to the Virgin Mary to help her fellow gypsies only to be confronted by Frollo , who accuses her of being a heathen . Afterwards , she asks King Louis to help her people , to which he agrees . Frollo then takes her up to the bell tower where they encounter Quasimodo , of whom she is frightened . She tries to run away from the hunchback until he catches up to her and physically carries her away . Pierre Gringoire , a poor street poet , witnesses all this , and calls out to Captain Phoebus and his guards , who capture Quasimodo just in time . Esmeralda is then saved and starts falling in love with Phoebus . Gringoire later trespasses the Court of Miracles but is saved by Esmeralda from hanging by marrying him . The next day , Quasimodo is sentenced to be lashed in the square and publicly humiliated afterwards . Frollo , seeing this , realizes that he ca n't stop the sentence because it already happened , and abandons him instead . However , Esmeralda arrives and gives him water , and this awakens Quasimodo 's love for her . Later that night , Esmeralda is invited by the nobles to their party . Frollo shows up to the party , where he confesses to Esmeralda his lust for her . Afterwards , she dances in front of the nobles and moves away from the crowd with Phoebus to a garden where they share a moment between each other . Frollo then kills Phoebus out of jealousy , and Esmeralda is wrongly accused of his death . Afterwards , Gringoire visits Esmeralda in her prison cell to console her . Frollo confesses the crime to his brother , and , knowing that the Archbishop refuses to help him because he is the murderer , intends to sentence Esmeralda to death for it ( which he does ) , saying that she has `` bewitched '' him . When Esmeralda is taken in front of Notre Dame to do public penance , the Archbishop claims her innocence and does not allow her to do penance . However , Frollo still orders Esmeralda to be hanged in the gallows , but just as this is about to happen , Quasimodo saves her by taking her to the cathedral . When Gringoire and Clopin realize that the nobles are planning to revoke Notre Dame 's right of sanctuary , they both try different methods in order to save Esmeralda from hanging . Gringoire writes a pamphlet that will prevent this from happening , and Clopin leads the beggars to storm the cathedral . At the Palace of Justice , Frollo reads the pamphlet to King Louis . After seeing a crowd protesting against the removal of Notre Dame 's sanctuary law , the King realizes that the pamphlet is creating public opinion , which can influence kings to make decisions . However , Frollo warns him that public opinion is dangerous . After the Archbishop arrives to inform the King of Notre Dame 's attack and that Esmeralda is innocent , Frollo confesses his crime to the King , for which Louis orders Olivier to arrest him . Afterwards , the King talks to Gringoire after reading his pamphlet . Meanwhile , Quasimodo and the guards of Paris fight off Clopin and the beggars . Afterwards , he sees Frollo in the bell tower seeking to harm Esmeralda , and throws him off the cathedral top . Later that morning , Esmeralda is pardoned by the King and freed from hanging , and her Gypsy people are also finally freed . Then , she leaves with Gringoire and a huge crowd out of the public square . The film makes it clear that in the end Esmeralda truly loves Gringoire . Quasimodo sees all this from high on the cathedral and says sadly to a gargoyle , `` Why was I not made of stone , like thee ? '' , and the film ends . Charles Laughton as Quasimodo Cedric Hardwicke as Frollo Thomas Mitchell as Clopin Maureen O'Hara as Esmeralda Edmond O'Brien as Gringoire Alan Marshal as Phoebus Walter Hampden as Archbishop Harry Davenport as King Louis XI Katharine Alexander as Fleur 's mother George Zucco as Procurator Fritz Leiber as Old nobleman Etienne Girardot as Doctor Helene Whitney as Fleur Mina Gombell as Queen of beggars Arthur Hohl as Olivier Curt Bois as Student George Tobias as Beggar Rod La Rocque as Phillipo Spencer Charters as Court clerk Kathryn Adams as Fleur 's companion Dianne Hunter as Fleur 's companion Siegfried Arno as Tailor Charles Laughton as Quasimodo Cedric Hardwicke as Frollo Thomas Mitchell as Clopin Maureen O'Hara as Esmeralda Edmond O'Brien as Gringoire Alan Marshal as Phoebus Walter Hampden as Archbishop Harry Davenport as King Louis XI Katharine Alexander as Fleur 's mother George Zucco as Procurator Fritz Leiber as Old nobleman Etienne Girardot as Doctor Helene Whitney as Fleur Mina Gombell as Queen of beggars Arthur Hohl as Olivier Curt Bois as Student George Tobias as Beggar Rod La Rocque as Phillipo Spencer Charters as Court clerk Kathryn Adams as Fleur 's companion Dianne Hunter as Fleur 's companion Siegfried Arno as Tailor This section does not cite any sources . Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . ( December 2017 ) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message ) This section does not cite any sources . Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . ( December 2017 ) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message ) The characters of Claude Frollo and Jehan Frollo are changed from the novel , as was done in the 1923 film . In the novel , Claude is depicted as a villainous archdeacon ; in the film he is good . His younger brother Jehan , who in the novel is a young , drunken student , is in the film an elderly villain who is a judge and a close advisor to the king . The film was nominated for two Academy Awards : Academy Award for Best Original Music Score ( Alfred Newman ) Academy Award for Best Sound ( John Aalberg ) Academy Award for Best Original Music Score ( Alfred Newman ) Academy Award for Best Sound ( John Aalberg ) Frank S. Nugent of The New York Times wrote a mostly negative review of the film , finding it `` little more '' than `` a freak show '' . Though he acknowledged it was `` handsome enough of production and its cast is expert , '' he called it `` almost unrelievedly brutal and without the saving grace of unreality which makes Frankenstein 's horrors a little comic . '' Variety called the film a `` super thriller - chiller '' but found that the elaborate sets tended to overwhelm the story , particularly in the first half . Harrison 's Reports wrote , `` Very good ! Audiences should be thrilled anew by this lavish remake of Victor Hugo 's famous novel . '' Film Daily called it `` compelling , dynamic entertainment . '' John Mosher of The New Yorker wrote that Laughton `` achieves something like a tour de force . The lines themselves ( such modernisms as ' to buy protection ' ) , along with a perfunctory plot arrangement , are among the weak features of the film , which otherwise is a vivid pictorial drama of fifteenth - century Paris . '' E.H. Harvey of The Harvard Crimson said that the film `` in all is more than entertaining . '' He said that `` the mediocre effects offer a forceful contrast to the great moments '' in the film . The movie was very popular but because of its cost only made a profit of $100,000 . The Hunchback of Notre Dame was released on September 21 , 2001 on DVD by Image Entertainment . It was issued on Blu - ray disc by Warner Brothers on June 9 , 2015 .