More "Day the Clown Cried" footage found/ released

[lester1/2jr]

http://gawker.com/heres-a-peek-at-the-holocaust-clown-film-jerry-lewis-i-1103950199/1496606186/@tcberman


Footage from Jerry Lewis' The Day the Clown Cried, perhaps the most infamous unreleased film of all time, leaked online on Saturday. Lewis starred in and directed the film, which told the story of a German circus clown who was arrested by the Nazis and, as punishment, was ordered to lead children into the gas chambers of Auschwitz.

The behind-the-scenes footage includes several takes from the film, which was shot in the early 70s, plus an interview with Lewis in which the comedian discusses Charlie Chaplin's influence.

After several disastrous test screenings, Lewis decided the film was beyond repair and locked it away, promising to keep it hidden forever.




......



Most of it unfortunately is making of footage but there are some shots of Lewis in the clown outfit doing his type of ...uh... comedy. It looks more like a demented grindhouse movie than whatever it was supposed to be.

[Rev. Powell]

More footage? I didn't realize any footage had been leaked previously.

Jerry must want people to see this after he's dead. He could have destroyed it rather than locking it away. I think he just doesn't want to face people while he's alive.

[lester1/2jr]

The first 2 minutes of this one are the closest to an actual movie

http://gawker.com/heres-a-peek-at-the-holocaust-clown-film-jerry-lewis-i-1103950199

[akiratubo]

which told the story of a German circus clown who was arrested by the Nazis and, as punishment, was ordered to lead children into the gas chambers of Auschwitz.

That would either be so depressing as to be unwatchable or so bungled it would be the funniest movie of all time.

[lester1/2jr]

That's why it's so infamous.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JGUKtc9Bjc

[BoyScoutKevin]

As I understand it, from what Mr. Lewis has said, unless he has changed his mind, he does not even want people to see the film, even after he has died. Because once he is dead, he wants the total film to be destroyed, before anybody sees it.

[Rev. Powell]

As I understand it, from what Mr. Lewis has said, unless he has changed his mind, he does not even want people to see the film, even after he has died. Because once he is dead, he wants the total film to be destroyed, before anybody sees it.

Then he should destroy it now. He's leaving it up to chance. If he dies with instructions to destroy it it's almost certain that there will be a legal challenge. There are many cases in history where heirs refused to abide by the wishes of deceased authors that their unpublished works be destroyed.

[Javakoala]

Somewhere in the distance, a sleazy distributor is licking his lips and rubbing his hands together.

When I first heard of this film and heard about Lewis locking it away so no one could see it, I had a odd thought. What if he is telling everyone he has it locked away when he has really destroyed it? Makes sense. His fans would be angered that he destroyed a piece of his work. So...destroy it and tell people otherwise. No one will know the truth until he dies and, then, who cares what his fans think?

Still, if that movie IS locked away, it will get released after he dies. It has too much legend behind it for anyone to destroy it.

[Trevor]

Then he should destroy it now. He's leaving it up to chance. If he dies with instructions to destroy it it's almost certain that there will be a legal challenge. There are many cases in history where heirs refused to abide by the wishes of deceased authors that their unpublished works be destroyed.

What you say reminds me of a pioneering South African filmmaker named Pierre de Wet who stated that his films should remain in archival care and never be released to TV or on any home video format.*

*They're all available on DVD now.