The time-honored Victor Hugo classic "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," starring Charles Laughton in the title role, will be shown Thursday, Oct. 28, in the Harold B. Lee Library auditorium at Brigham Young University, in the ongoing Special collections Motion Picture Archives Film Series.
The one-time showing will be at 7 p.m. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and the film is free of charge. Children ages 8 and older are welcome to attend. No food or drink is permitted in the auditorium.
Daryl Lee of BYU's French and Italian Department will introduce the masterful film version of the tale about the misshapen outcast who falls in love with a young gypsy girl in 15th-century Paris.
The 1939 movie scored a critical triumph for British actor Charles Laughton. Biographer Simon Callow wrote, "It is acting at its greatest; it is Laughton at his greatest; it is a cornerstone of this century's dramatic achievement; it is a yardstick for all acting."
"The Hunchback of Notre Dame" was also the first American film featuring the 19-year old Irish actress Maureen O'Hara. She was under contract at the time to Laughton, who insisted that RKO Radio Pictures include her in the film. The superb supporting cast includes Thomas Mitchell, Sir Cedric Hardwicke and Edmund O'Brien.
The Special Collections Motion Picture Archives Film Series is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Harold B. Lee Library and Dennis & Linda Gibson. Now in its sixth season, the series features motion pictures projected on film-not video-from the large collection of motion picture prints in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections.
A complete season schedule may be found online at sc.lib.byu.edu. For questions or inquires, contact Special Collections at (801) 422-6371.
