A sensitive adaptation of Victor Hugo's epic 1831 novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) tells the story of a deformed bell-ringer's love for a beautiful gypsy woman amidst the turmoil in France under King Louis XI. The film was the most prestigious release by RKO Radio Pictures in 1939; it was a spectacular hit at the box office, despite appearing in the same fabled year as such movies as Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Wuthering Heights, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Gunga Din. Although it was given a Hollywood ending that is at odds with the tragedy of the novel's original ending, The Hunchback of Notre Dameis often cited as the best of several screen versions of Hugo's classic story. Critics usually credit the enduring appeal of the film to lavish production design, Alfred Newman's rousing score, beautiful camerawork, a literate script, strong direction by William Dieterle, and, particularly, Charles Laughton's extremely sympathetic performance in the title role. The Hunchback of Notre Dame also marked the first U.S. screen appearance of Maureen O'Hara, a protégée of Laughton's since her appearance with him in Jamaica Inn (1939), as well as the film debut of Edmond O'Brien, a stage actor who had worked with Orson Welles and John Houseman's Mercury Theatre.