PRESS RELEASE: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Silent 1923) with Live Orchestra, Saturday, November 19th
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Silent 1923) with Live Orchestra
Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts in Longview, WA
Saturday, November 19 from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm
LONGVIEW, WA—Experience the classic silent film The Hunchback of Notre Dame as it appeared when released in 1923: performed with a live symphony orchestra. The Columbia Theatre in Longview, WA opened in 1925 and has been restored to its former grandeur.
Tickets: $25. Box Office: 360.575.8499. Theatre location: 1231 Vandercook Avenue, Longview, WA.
The film elevated Chaney, who was already a well-known character actor, to full star status in Hollywood, and also helped set a standard for many later horror films, including Chaney's The Phantom of the Opera in 1925. The film was directed by Wallace Worsley and produced by Carl Laemmle and Irving Thalberg.
Chaney plays Quasimodo, the tragically disfigured bell ringer from Victor Hugo’s sprawling tale, set in 1482. A vast set of medieval Paris was constructed for this film, and the enormous sets and scenes of vast crowds help put the film on an epic level. A fast-moving plot involves knights, street performers, revolutionaries, a stolen baby, and the culminating attack by a crazed mob on Paris’ most famous building.
Rodney Sauer has compiled a new score for the film, including music that was written especially for the film in 1924, which matches the romance and action of the film. He will perform with members of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Sauer is a member of the Mont Alto Orchestra, which has scored over 125 silent films and recorded over 40 film scores for releases on DVD, Blu-Ray, and for showings on Turner Classic Movies.