'The Hunchback of Notre Dame'

Watched a very high-quality film last night on TCM. The movie was the 1939 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame.' This artful work had so much power and terrific zest. The viewer was really pulled into the story based on the tremendous novel by the magnificent, Victor Hugo. Playing the hunchback was the incredible actor, Charles Laughton. When one sees a performance like his one realizes many men that came later are like asinine little kids...they are nowhere near a man of his stature. Not only Laughton but other real luminaries populate this gem of a film. Maureen O'Hara plays the poor girl, Esmeralda. She (O'Hara) has in her possession a fascinating highly-feminine blend of vulnerability and strong feisty soulfulness. I love the melodic and so true picaresque dollops of artfulness that Maureen O'Hara brings to this clever movie. Cedric Hardwicke and Thomas Mitchell are also truly fascinating in this film. It is a heady brew...the storyline of 'Hunchback' because one feels a sense of drowning in the wild river that is ancient French culture with all of its cleverness and so articulate philosophical insights. When Esmeralda is abruptly rescued by the hideous hunchback it is indeed a shiny, all-encompassing miracle and just like in the first 'Rocky' movie many years later men and women want to jump up and cheer. Again, this gorgeous 1939 movie 'Hunchback' is a fabulous movie that really satisfies the human soul.