Has Jerry Lewis’s ‘Lost’ Holocaust Clown Film Been Found?

Over half a century ago, comedian Jerry Lewis took on the roles of director and lead actor for the film “The Day the Clown Cried,” a story about a German clown who was tricked into leading Jewish children to their deaths in a concentration camp during the Holocaust. This project sparked much debate due to its controversial subject matter, as Lewis’ acting skills in dramatic roles were yet to be seen; he was primarily recognized for his comedic performances, such as those in “The Nutty Professor.” However, the film was never released. In 2009, Lewis described it to Entertainment Weekly as either a masterpiece on par with “Citizen Kane” or an abysmal failure. The only existing copy of the 1972 production is kept under lock and key, but its mystery has remained intriguing for film enthusiasts. As the New York Times put it in 2018, for a specific type of cinephile, “The Day the Clown Cried” is one of the last great unsolved mysteries in cinema.

On May 28th, Swedish magazine Icon and Swedish state broadcaster SVT reported that Swedish actor Hans Crispin has been in possession of a stolen copy of a film for some time. He recently showed this film to a few journalists as evidence. The question now is, what will he do with it, and why does it matter so much? Here’s everything you should know about this movie, including the reason why the U.S. Library of Congress stopped public screenings of it after Lewis donated his personal collection.

How did Hans Crispin get his hands on the film?

Essentially, what he possesses is commonly referred to as the Hans Crispin version of the movie. Back in 1980, while working at Europafilm, Crispin managed to obtain a workprint of the film by sneaking it from the studio. He further enlisted help to copy VHS versions of the stolen material, which included The Day the Clown Cried. The footage had been initially edited by film editor Wic Kjellin, but Crispin reassembled it into a complete movie, although a section at the beginning was missing. This was possible due to annotated original scripts he’d also found at Europafilm. According to Crispin, he stored the film away and didn’t consider it until 1990 when someone who seemed aware of his theft sent him a VCR cassette containing the eight opening minutes that were shot in Paris.

On various occasions, Crispin has privately shown his movie to visitors at his home in Sweden. In an interview with Caroline Hainer from Icon magazine, he revealed that she would be either the 20th or 21st person globally to view the entire film. He admitted that he has been hesitant to discuss his ownership of the film due to long-standing fears that law enforcement might raid him. However, with news of his involvement in the upcoming documentary From Darkness to Light, which chronicles the creation of The Day the Clown Cried and is slated for release in Sweden this summer, he decided it was time to step forward. Interestingly, he also admitted to his old supervisor, who did not threaten to involve authorities but instead thanked him for preserving the film, about his past actions.

What does Crispin want to do with his copy?

It appears that he’s relinquishing his control over it. He stated, “It needs to be seen.” He seems inclined towards passing it on to the next generation. With modern restoration methods available, it can be brought back to life. He intends to sell it to a dedicated producer who will either preserve it as is or unlock its potential by restoring it, or restore it for educational purposes.

Why wasn’t The Day the Clown Cried released in the first place?

It seems Lewis lacked the necessary permissions to produce the movie, as revealed in Shawn Levy’s 1996 biography of the comedian. Joan O’Brien, a publicist, came up with the story idea in the early ’60s and co-wrote a script with critic Charles Denton. Lewis later rewrote that script, but discovered too late that his producer hadn’t legally secured the rights to the story during production. In his 2005 memoir, Lewis alleged that this same producer failed to cover other costs, forcing him to spend $2 million of his own money on the project. The original writers objected to the film’s release due to changes made by Lewis; they told Spy magazine in 1992 that he had transformed the self-centered clown into a more empathetic character. Patton Oswalt, who staged readings of Lewis’s script in the late ’90s with fellow comedians like Bob Odenkirk, also noticed differences. According to Oswalt’s 2015 memoir, “The script was originally written by Joan O’Brien and Charles Denton. But when Jerry Lewis decided to make it, he made significant revisions, including adding slapstick, pratfalls, and a scene where the cold in the concentration camp barracks makes the clown — named Helmut Doork — urinate ice.

What did Lewis think about the film?

Over time, it appears that his stance on the film “The Day the Clown Cried” evolved significantly. In his 1982 autobiography, he expressed a strong desire for people to see the movie. However, in an interview with EW in 2009, he suggested that Jewish audiences would find it appealing. During this same conversation, he addressed the intrigue surrounding the film, stating that its notoriety seemed unfair due to unfinished aspects and his own embarrassment over the subpar work. In 2013, Lewis reiterated his negative opinion of the film at Cannes, calling it all bad because he had lost the magic necessary for its completion. Sadly, the film will likely never be seen by the public as Lewis stipulated in his will that his collection, which includes footage of “The Day the Clown Cried,” could not be screened for a decade following his death in 2017. He also donated this collection to the U.S. Library of Congress.

Who else has seen The Day the Clown Cried, and what did they think?

Lewis stated in his 2009 EW interview that he, his father, and his manager had viewed the film titled The Day the Clown Cried, but according to him, he only watched parts of certain reels. He didn’t attend any screenings. However, since the 1970s, multiple people have claimed they saw a version of the movie. The responses have been diverse. Comedian Harry Shearer, who discussed seeing a cut of the film in a 1992 Spy magazine article, described it as “so drastically wrong” that one couldn’t imagine an improved version. He compared watching the movie to stumbling upon a black velvet painting of Auschwitz in Tijuana.

French film critic Jean-Michel Frodon gave a particularly favorable critique. In an interview with Vanity Fair, he shared that he appreciated the movie when French director Xavier Giannoli presented him a copy of the film in either 2004 or 2005. “The film is quite intriguing and significant, incredibly bold not just about the subject matter, which undeniably is the Holocaust, but also as a tale of a man who has spent his life bringing joy through laughter, and is now contemplating the essence of humor,” Frodon stated. “I believe it’s a very bitter film, and an unsettling one, which is why it was so harshly criticized by those who viewed it or parts of it, such as the scriptwriters.

2016 saw a sneak peek of the movie “The Day the Clown Cried” when 32 minutes of edited footage, including behind-the-scenes clips, was illegally shared online. In 2024, the U.S. Library of Congress granted Benjamin Charles Germain Lee, a Holocaust scholar whose grandfather was imprisoned at Auschwitz, exclusive access to view this material, which they had received from Lewis in a 2014 donation. However, it could not be publicly screened for ten years. In an essay for “The New Republic”, Lee shared his thoughts on the experience, stating that he felt no offense – a sentiment he rarely feels towards other Holocaust films made by Hollywood. He believed the footage provokes viewers to consider the delicate equilibrium between sorrow and laughter, and the boundaries and functions of humor, not just in relation to atrocity, but also in our everyday lives. Caroline Hainer from “Icon”, who was allowed to watch a copy of the film by Crispin, felt that while it might not be the worst movie ever made, as some had suggested, it was incredibly dull. She also criticized the Swedish cast’s acting.

Why didn’t the U.S. Library of Congress release the film?

The primary issue preventing the library from showing the entire movie to the public is because they don’t possess the complete film. Rob Stone, the library’s moving-image curator, explained in an email to the New York Times in 2018 that Lewis only donated parts of the film: around 90 minutes of raw, silent footage, along with some behind-the-scenes material. At the time, Stone mentioned he would consult lawyers before deciding whether the material could be viewed, expressing concerns about potential copyright issues since someone claiming to hold rights had reached out. In 2024, ten years after Lewis set this period for publication, the Library of Congress announced that the available materials of “The Day the Clown Cried” would only be accessible for research purposes.

What about the remake? Does that have anything to do with this?

It’s possible that Jack Abramoff, a former Republican lobbyist and ex-convict, attempted to produce a movie based on “The Day the Clown Cried” in the early ’90s. However, the project didn’t move forward because the rights were unclear and no one could secure clearance. But in August 2024, it seems Kia Jam, founder of K. Jam Media, was successful where others failed. According to Deadline, Jam obtained a purchase agreement on the original script penned by O’Brien and Denton. Interestingly, Jam clarified that Jerry Lewis, who had rewritten the script, never truly owned the rights to the original work he revised.

It appeared as though Jam was monitoring who else might attempt to show Lewis’s movie footage. Jam shared with Deadline that he contacted the Library of Congress after learning they had a copy they could display in 2024, expressing his concerns about their right to screen it. He stated, “I politely asked, if you do have a copy of the film, you don’t have the authority to screen it.” (He was relieved upon discovering that they only possessed pieces of the movie like set photos for researchers to examine.) Additionally, he reached out to the team behind the documentary From Darkness to Light, in which Crispin participated, “to understand their intentions,” although he did not receive an immediate response. “I’m not trying to prevent anyone from doing anything,” Jam explained. “My goal is to create the original script.” Although it took Jam several years and a considerable amount of legal fees to secure the rights, he told Deadline that he believes his work will prove valuable. “It will be a very impactful film,” he said. “It’s fundamentally a story about redemption. And given all that’s happening in the world today, I believe now more than ever is the right time to make a movie like this.

2025-05-31 13:55