THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED

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It appears that the public now has a chance to watch the Sony movie The Interview. However, there is another film which is almost virtually certain never to see the light of day.That movie is The Day the Clown Cried, and its censorship has nothing to do with cyber-terrorism.

The Day the Clown Cried is the brainchild of Jerry Lewis, noted slapstick comedian and host for 45 years of the Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon. It is not a comedy. In fact, it is a real downer. It is a tragic and poignant story about a professional clown (played by Lewis) who gets into trouble with the Nazis and is sent to a concentration camp. At the camp, his job is to wear a homemade clown costume and act as a Pied Piper to the children to lure them into the gas chambers.

Inexplicably, after a rough cut of the movie was finished in 1972, it was never distributed. Many theories abounded as to why.  One hypothesis was that the movie was so bad that Lewis was loathe to release it. Others speculated that the movie was so amazingly good that Lewis was waiting for the perfect time to introduce it to the world. There were other rumors that some of the film's financing was from Iran and that resulting legal complications put it into limbo forever.

Lewis himself was very enigmatic about why the movie was under wraps and for decades would broach no discussions concerning the reasons. Finally, on January 12, 2013, when asked a question by a fan, Lewis provided a clue when he stated that he was "embarrassed" and "ashamed of the work." He further indicated that it was "bad...bad...bad..."  and that "it could have been wonderful but I slipped up."

This version is supported by an earlier interview with Harry Schearer, one of the purported seven persons in the world who actually have seen the film.*  Schearer's opinion of the quallity of the movie was less than enthusiastic.

I was never a great fan of Jerry Lewis's comedies, but I do have to admire his philanthropic work as well as his willingness to go outside of the box and attempt to do a meaningful film about a very serious topic. I also admire the fact that he was willing to take down his tent when he realized that he gotten it wrong. It is depressing enough to watch high-quality films about the Holocaust, such as Schindler's List or The Grey Zone; it would be absolutely ghastly to have to endure one which was not well done.

*Despite the fact that allegedly only seven people have seen the film, 188 persons have rated the movie on the Internet Movie Database--perhaps they are basing their opinions on the script, which IS readily available).