Jerry Lewis' Unreleased Holocaust Film THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED Acquired by Library of Congress

By: Aug. 08, 2015
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Hey movie buffs! We've got good news and bad news. The good news? The only remaining copy of Jerry Lewis' THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED has surfaced! The bad news? You still might not be able to see it. Ever.

Jerry Lewis' lost Holocaust-centric film about a clown who entertains children before they're sent to the gas chambers, is now in the hands of the Library of Congress, but they're making no promises about letting us see it. THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED was completed in 1972 by Jerry Lewis, but never officially released because of controversy surrounding the content. Lewis himself eventually ordered it never be seen by the public.

The Library of Congress' movie-imaging curator, Rob Stone, has said little besides that they have decided to wait at least 10 years before opening the film to the public.

Keep checking BroadwayWorld as we keep you updated on the status of this historical development!

Lewis himself told Entertainment Weekly in a 2009 interview that the film is either even better than acclaimed Orson Welles film CITIZEN KANE, or it's, "The worst piece of s- that anyone ever loaded on the projector."

"After I'm gone, who knows what's going to happen?" Lewis continued. "The only thing that I do feel, that I always get a giggle out of, some smart young guy ... is going to come up with an idea and he's going to run the f-ing thing. I would love that. Because he's going to see a hell of a movie!"

While we wait for the film, watch this behind-the-scenes footage!

The Day the Clown Cried is an unreleased 1972 film directed by and starring Jerry Lewis. It is based on a script of the same name by Joan O'Brien, who had co-written the original script with Charles Denton ten years previously. The film was met with controversy regarding its premise and content, which features a circus clown who is imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp. The Day the Clown Cried has become somewhat infamous among film historians and movie buffs as a film that has never officially been released.

Source: EW



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