The Darling of Paris is a 1917 American silent romantic drama film directed by J. Gordon Edwards and starring Theda Bara and Glen White. It was a very loose film adaptation of the 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo. It was produced by William Fox. The Darling of Paris was later re-edited from six to five reels and re-released by Fox on February 16, 1919. The film is now considered lost.^[1]

The wealthy girl Esmeralda (Theda Bara) is kidnapped by gypsies at birth and becomes, as one might assume, the darling of Paris. She is loved by the bell ringer and former hunchback Quasimodo (Glen White), Frollo (Walter Law), the wicked surgeon who cares for him, and an equally wicked Captain Phoebus (Herbert Heyes).

However, the titular hunchback is downplayed in favor of gypsy dancing girl Esmerelda. The surgeon kills the Captain and frames Esmeralda, but after many merry mix-ups, she winds back with her wealthy family, happily wed to Quasimodo.

The film was shot at the Fox Studios then located in Fort Lee, New Jersey. An elaborate set was constructed on the back lot to recreate Paris where the film is set. The set also included a reproduction of the Notre Dame de Paris.^[2]

The release in Brazil was done with the title A Favorita de Paris on September 17, 1917, on the cinemas Ideal^[3] and Pathé, both from Rua da Carioca 60–62, Rio de Janeiro. It also debuted on Cine Haddock Lobo on September 30, 1917.^[4] Cinema Haddock Lobo was located near the Largo da Segunda-Feira, in a street of several theaters. Cine Ideal belonged to the group Severiano Ribeiro, which still holds in its storehouse old silent films. For over a month it grossed a huge box office and was a success of public and critical acclamation on Rio society.

The highest-grossing releases in September on Rio:

• List of lost films