The Day The Clown Cried (1972) - Unreleased (films, script, scene)
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So today I was reading an article about The Interview, which may end up being a film that simply never sees the light of day. Anyway, the article obliquely compared this possible fate with that of some film called The Day The Clown Cried. I was curious - I had to find out more.
And... well, wow...
As Patton Oswalt describes it, in this article tangentially about the film:
Quote:
[A] drama about a clown in Auschwitz, forced by the Nazis to entertain Jewish children on their way to the gas chamber. If he does this, his life will be spared. But his conscience can’t bear the burden, so, at the last minute, he enters the gas chamber with them. Slam. Hiss. Fade to black.
Did I mentioned that Jerry Lewis plays the clown?
Here's an article that focuses more on the film itself:
Quote:
When presenting a film about the Holocaust that hopes to imbue any level of humor into the most terrible of situations, perhaps the best that can be hoped for is 1997's "Life is Beautiful." Roberto Benigni (who won an Oscar for his leading role in the film) takes on the role of a father who plays games with his young son to help the boy avoid realizing that they are in a concentration camp. It requires a lot of nuance and more than a bit of attention to tone.
Apparently neither of these things were evident when Jerry Lewis made "The Day the Clown Cried," a film he starred in, co-wrote and directed in 1972. In it, Lewis plays a circus performer who is taken by the Nazis after making fun of Hitler. In the concentration camp where he's sent, he amuses the children with his routine, and eventually walks with them into a gas chamber. The last scene involves Lewis' clown (Helmut Doork) and the children laughing while the gas surrounds them.
I have no interest in seeing the film. But what's impressive is what an epic train-wreck is the very concept. It might - might - be doable today. But in 1972? And starring Jerry Lewis?
No wonder he's bound and determined that it will never surface.
You've never heard of this? I've been involved in some funny discussions about the movie.. Based on some of the people who have actually seen it (or a rough cut or whatever) the movie was just a complete hot mess. Just flat out not good, regardless of the subject matter.
In one way, the movie has already been made.. Starred Robin Williams and was called Jakob the Liar. Same concept, different details.
Some things get less of a chance of being made as time goes by.. "Blazing Saddles", which I still count in my personal top-5 of funniest movies ever.. Could NEVER be made in todays world.
You've never heard of this? I've been involved in some funny discussions about the movie.. Based on some of the people who have actually seen it (or a rough cut or whatever) the movie was just a complete hot mess. Just flat out not good, regardless of the subject matter.
In one way, the movie has already been made.. Starred Robin Williams and was called Jakob the Liar. Same concept, different details.
Some things get less of a chance of being made as time goes by.. "Blazing Saddles", which I still count in my personal top-5 of funniest movies ever.. Could NEVER be made in todays world.
That was not a remake of The Day The Clown Cried in any sense. Jakob is a shopkeeper, not a clown. It takes place in a Jewish ghetto, not in a concentration camp.
Jakob The Liar is a remake of an East German film, which began production years before The Day The Clown Cried was made, though it was not released until after the Jerry Lewis film - which in turn was based on a script written years before either film was released. The films have absolutely no connection whatsoever aside from being set during World War II and involving Jewish victims of Nazi Germany.
Supposedly, Jerry Lewis has the only copy of his movie and he never wants it seen.
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