Jerry Lewis’ Lost Film Found: The Day The Clown Cried
The long-lost world of Jerry Lewis’s “The Day the Clown cried” might soon be revealed! Decades after it’s controversial production, a complete version of this infamous film, a dark comedy set in Nazi Germany, could at last be unearthed. A Swedish actor claims to hold the full film, wich stars Lewis as a clown forced to entertain children in a concentration camp.This revelation, possibly paired with the Library of Congress’s existing footage, offers a unique chance to examine this elusive piece of cinema history. News Directory 3 is following the story.Discover what awaits for “The Day the Clown Cried” and its potential impact on film.
Jerry Lewis’s “The Day the Clown cried” May Finally See the Light
updated May 31, 2025
A complete version of “The Day the Clown Cried,” the infamous and unreleased 1972 film starring Jerry Lewis, may soon be available. the film, directed by and starring Lewis as Helmut Doork, tells the story of a clown in World War II-era Germany who is ordered by the Nazis to entertain children at a concentration camp before they are led to the gas chambers.
The film, a Nazi comedy, has remained unseen for decades, becoming something of a legend in cinema history. It was thought to be unfinished, but a Swedish actor, Hans Crispin, claims he stole a copy from Europafilm studio in 1980. Crispin says he initially lacked the first act but later received it from a colleague who knew he had the rest of the movie.
According to the Sweden Herald, Crispin has kept the complete film locked in a bank vault. he hopes to add his material to the Jerry Lewis archive at the Library of Congress.Lewis himself donated five hours of unfinished footage to the Library of Congress in 2015, stipulating that it not be available until 2024.
The Day the Clown cried’s controversial subject matter and unfinished status have fueled its notoriety. Those who have seen clips of the film have described it in extreme terms.
Back in 1992, comedian Harry Shearer told radio personality Howard Stern that watching the film was like “if you flew down to Tijuana and suddenly saw a painting on black velvet of Auschwitz.”
He added,“This movie is so drastically wrong,its pathos and its comedy are so wildly misplaced,that you could not,in your fantasy of what it might be like,improve on what it really is. ‘Oh my God!’ — that’s all you can say.”
Budgetary issues and disputes over ownership contributed to the film’s never being released, adding to the mystique surrounding this lost Jerry Lewis film.
What’s next
With the Library of Congress footage now available and Crispin’s version potentially surfacing, film enthusiasts may finally have the chance to view “The Day the Clown Cried” in its entirety and judge for themselves.