The is a wonderfully evocative version of the timeless Victor Hugo story of love, desire, cruelty and brutality in 1490's Paris. Charles Laughton turns in a tour de force performance as the physically and mentally disabled "Quasimodo" who is feared, loathed and ridiculed by the local population. When a wandering gypsy girl "Esmerelda" (quite possibly Maureen O'Hara's best ever performance) is found guilty of murder he rescues her and gives her sanctuary in the high bell tower of Notre Dame cathedral. Here she is easy prey for the already infatuated "Frollo" - superby depicted by Sir Cedric Hardwicke. What follows is the stuff of great literature adapted with adroit skill and sympathy by Sonya Levein (screenplay) and directed by William Dieterie. The use of light and shadow, Alfred Newman's nimble score and an authentic set (recreated in California) make this by far the best rendering of this story on film.
