“Man of a Thousand Faces” (1957), the Lon Chaney biopic

On this episode of the definitive podcast about “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (“Notre-Dame de Paris”), we discuss the Lon Chaney biopic “Man of a Thousand Faces” (1957)!

While this movie isn’t a direct “Hunchback” adaptation, it contains recreation scenes of Universal’s 1923 movie (the topic of our previous episode) and provides valuable insight into Lon Chaney’s (Quasimodo’s) life at the time of filming.

How much of this movie is historically accurate? Why is 58-year-old James Cagney playing a 22-year-old? And why, why, WHY does the Quasimodo makeup look so terrible?

Join us as we answer these questions and more!

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CHAPTERS FOR THIS EPISODE:

(00:00) Intro

(00:57) Why Did This Get Made?

(08:10) Plot Synopsis

(12:50) Historical Accuracy

(18:04) Portrayal of Deafness and Ableism

(23:13) James Cagney’s Performance

(25:06) The Recreation Scenes

(36:58) Chaney’s Wives

(45:51) Overall Thoughts

(50:42) Inn, Dust, Throw

(55:54) Outro

SOURCES FOR THIS EPISODE:

• “Lon Chaney: The Man Behind the Thousand Faces” by Michael F. Blake
• “A Thousand Faces: Lon Chaney’s Unique Artistry in Motion Pictures” by Michael F. Blake
• “The Universal Story” (1996)
• “Orson Welles - Interview with Michael Parkinson” (BBC 1974)
• “The Kid Stays in the Picture: A Notorious Life,” an autobiography by Robert Evans (1994)

Podcast logo by Ryan Grimm (Instagram: @grimmstar2002).

“The Hunchcast of Notre Dame” is a production of 1482 Media. All rights reserved.