The Hunchback of Notre Dame [Notre-Dame de Paris] *** (1956, Gina Lollobrigida, Anthony Quinn) – Classic Movie Review 2666

Anthony Quinn (as the hunchback Notre Dame Cathedral bellringer Quasimodo) and Gina Lollobrigida (as the gypsy dancing girl Esmeralda whom he silently loves) light up Jean Delannoy’s 1956 French version of the Victor Hugo classic The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Because of the luminous presences of Anthony Quinn (as the hunchback Notre Dame Cathedral bellringer Quasimodo) and Gina Lollobrigida (as the gypsy dancing girl Esmeralda whom he silently loves), director Jean Delannoy’s 1956 French version of the Victor Hugo classic easily avoids being the annoying failure of its reputation.

Quinn and Lollobrigida are the only two actors speaking in English, though of course he’s Mexican and she’s Italian. The rest of the cast are French actors with their voices dubbed into English. Alas, thus hampered by language, everybody apart from the two stars, seems just to be going through the motions. Jean Danet is Phoebus and Alain Cuny plays Claude Frollo.

Produced by Raymond and Robert Hakim, this is the first version of the novel to be made in colour, in the lovely cinematography by Michel Kelber. It is a handsome, careful production, its other big advantage.

Anthony Quinn’s portrays Quasimodo in a more human and less horrific way than in other movies, with only has a small curve in his spine and a slightly deformed face. Lollobrigida was the first to play Esmeralda barefoot and her costumes and look are considered to be the most accurate depiction of what a medieval Romani woman looked like.

[Spoiler alert] The film is one of the few adaptations to use Victor Hugo’s original ending, though Esmeralda is killed by a stray arrow in the film rather than being hanged as she is in the novel. Esmeralda’s last words are: ‘Life is wonderful’ (‘C’est beau, la vie’), echoing the ironic title of Roberto Benigni’s 1997 movie Life Is Beautiful [La Vita E Bella].

But there is a kind of happy ending: a final voiceover says that several years later, an excavation group finds the skeletons of Quasimodo and Esmeralda intertwined in an everlasting embrace.

The stars provide the needed warmth and the esteemed screen-writers Jean Aurenche, Jacques Prévert and Ben Hecht provide the intelligence and fresh take on the story that make this little-seen or regarded movie truly indispensable.

It was very popular in its day. On a budget of $1million, it took back $2.25million in the US alone, a good result for a French movie.

Gina Lollobrigida was born on 4 July 1927 in Subiaco, Italy. Despite only coming third in the 1947 Miss Italy beauty competition to future actresses Lucia Bosé and Gianna Maria Canale, she was destined to overshadow them in fame, fortune and talent, and be called ‘The Most Beautiful Woman in the World’. ‘La Lollo’ celebrated her 90th birthday on 4 July 2017.

She said in 2000: ‘I studied painting and sculpting at school and became an actress by mistake. I’ve had many lovers and still have romances. I am very spoiled. All my life, I’ve had too many admirers.’

Gina Lollobrigida died at a clinic in Rome on 16 January 2023, at the age of 95.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2666

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com