Sunday, February 22, 2009

Feature #4 - The Hunchback of Notre Dame ~ Harry Davenport Program this Saturday in Canton

We present Feature #4 in our series of movies in which Harry Davenport, former resident of Canton, Pa., is an important character actor. This is the final week to get your tickets for our special event, "Harry Davenport - Canton's Famous Actor."

It will be presented on February 28th at 1 p.m. at the Rialto Theatre in Canton. Tickets are $6 each and are available at the Canton Independent-Sentinel or by calling the Bradford County Historical Society at 570-265-2240. If you would like the tickets mailed to you, add $1.00. No tickets will be available at the door.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: A member of the Davenport family, and cast member of the movie, "Gone With the Wind" is sending a special message for the people of Canton. Don't miss this event!

EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS: To watch the movie clip below, go to the blog by clicking here.

~ The Hunchback of Notre Dame ~

Released: December 29, 1939
Character: King Louis XI
Notes: This movie was released the same year as Gone With the Wind, in which Harry also appeared. It was certainly a busy year for him as these are two of the most well known movies in which he was a character actor. This movie was made only four years after Harry left Canton, Pa.

Movie Synopsis:
Ignorance, cruelty and superstition pervade France of the fifteenth century. Frollo, the King's high justice, exploits these evils, persecuting the gypsies and opposing any mode of progress.

When the lovely gypsy dancer Esmeralda is threatened by the King's men, she seeks refuge in a church, Notre Dame, where she meets the grotesque hunchback Quasimodo. Frollo, who is Quasimodo's guardian, orders the hunchback to take the girl captive, and Esmeralda, terrified, escapes to the underworld of Clopin and his beggars. There, she saves the life of the poet Gringoire by consenting to take him as her husband, although she truly loves the soldier Phoebus.

Frollo lusts after Esmeralda, however, and, unable to tolerate her love for Phoebus, kills his rival. Esmeralda is arrested for the crime, and Frollo, claiming that the girl had bewitched him with the power of Satan, demands her life.

As Esmeralda is marched to die on the gallows, Quasimodo leaps from the building above and carries her to the sanctuary of the church. Not to be denied Esmeralda's life, Frollo incites the nobles to deny sanctuary, and the beggars, concerned for the girl's safety, storm the church.

Amid the chaos, Frollo enters the church. Justice is finally served as Quasimodo hurls Frollo to his death from the bell tower.

Turner Classic Movies