BY:http://www.filmthreat.com/features/258/

JERRY LEWIS’ “THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED” REVEALED!

Perhaps it sounded like a good idea at the time – “The ‘Nutty Professor’ Does Auschwitz”?

Sometime around 1972, director, star, egomaniac Jerry Lewis embarked on a most bizarre and many would argue questionable film project. Not since “Springtime for Hitler” would the cinematic world be privileged to such a fun time romp through Nazi Germany.

The film in question is, of course, the now notorious and largely unseen “The Day the Clown Cried,” a film about, of all things, a concentration camp clown whose job it is to lead children into the ovens (as if clowns weren’t disturbing enough already). Since the film has only ever been seen by a handful of people, one is left to ponder – could it possibly be as bad as it sounds?

In short – the answer would seemingly be YES! After years of searching for even the most scant facts and information on this well buried film, FILM THREAT recently managed to procure a copy of the shooting script – some 164 pages of misguided, disturbing, egomaniacal and just plain fucked-up material that would have the crowd at Nuremberg scratching their heads in utter disbelief. Not only is it horribly written and lacking in any humor (the script specifically notes when things should be “played for laughs”), but after about the first fifty pages what starts out as merely a bad screenplay degenerates into a deranged, unconscionable disaster that almost makes you feel guilty for reading it… almost.

“The Day the Clown Cried” has been shrouded in mystery for years – the stuff of legend. Was the film ever even made? If so, is it really a comedy about a clown leading children into ovens? Any hard details regarding the film, even what it is actually about, have been all but unobtainable. That is, UNTIL NOW!

EXT. PARIS CIRCUS – NIGHT

This comedic opus begins with a once great, now down and out clown by the name of Helmut Doork (played by Mr. Jerry Lewis) as he is fired from the circus where he is not appreciated. After being dropped, Doork heads to the local watering hole where he attempts to drown his sorrows. After a few pops, Doork begins to poke fun at Mr. Hitler, much to the chagrin of the Gestapo agents sitting in the bar. He is promptly arrested and sent off to a prison camp.

The next 25 pages read something like a really shitty version of “Stalag 17″ as Helmut learns to deal with the prison camp hierarchy. He fumbles around like an idiot as the sadistic Nazi guard taunts him all the while waiting for alleged “release papers” that obviously will never come. His fellow barracks-occupants are less than endeared to him as he refuses to perform for them or try to make them laugh. For some reason he views his status as a clown as somehow being above performing for these men (an unintentional reflection, perhaps, of Lewis’ notorious arrogance). He is far more concerned about preserving his legend as a great performer than he is of appeasing these men.

After alienating himself from his fellow prisoners, Helmut is disturbed to see Jewish men, women and children being brought into the camp. The loudspeaker announces “Fraternizing between Aryan and non-Aryan prisoners is strictly prohibited.” As the men grow angrier at Helmut, he is forced to perform for them under threat of physical violence. His performance sucks and the men grow angrier with him. “If he’s Germany’s greatest clown, God help the Fatherland.” Dejected, he exits the barracks and tries out his act alone in the prison yard. He hears laughter from the other side of the fence and sees that a small gathering of children are laughing at him. He takes some mud and makes an impromptu clown face. He basks in the glory of the children’s laughter.

As the weeks pass, Helmut’s audience grows to include some of the Jewish adults as well as some of his fellow political prisoners. A new prison Commandant arrives and is appalled that this clown is allowed to carry on. He orders the performances and any interaction with the Jews ended immediately. “When you rule by fear, laughter is the most frightening sound in the world.”

For the days to follow the children stand against the fence and stare disappointedly at Helmut, unable to perform for them any longer. He seems more bothered by the fact that he no longer has an audience than the fact that the children are now sad. He defies orders and begins to perform once more. The SS men order him to stop. When he continues, they viciously beat him in front of the horrified children. Helmut escapes their grasp and begins to clown around again. The children laugh again but he is quickly subdued and thrown into solitary confinement.

While Helmut is in solitary, the Nazis come upon a uniquely Nazi dilemma – they have to get the children to another camp, as they are no use in a work camp. They have the children rounded up in a boxcar awaiting the train that will take them away, however the cries of the children are an annoyance. Since they want to get rid of the children while drawing as little attention to themselves as possible, they decide to send Helmut to the boxcar to keep the children quiet. In exchange for his performance, they tell him that his appeal for release will be reviewed. Helmut agrees to perform for the children and does so, making them laugh and convincing them that they are going to a “better place.” He is accidentally locked in with the children when the train arrives and arrives with the children the next day at Auschwitz.

The Commandant at Auschwitz explains to Helmut what is done here – how the buildings without windows are ovens used to exterminate the Jewish children. He goes on to tell Helmut that as he has lead the children this far and that he now has a special bond with them, almost as if he is “one of them,” he should lead them for the remainder of their journey. It is then, in the last ten pages of the screenplay, that the true dementia of the film truly takes hold. Helmut replies “No… no! I’m not one of them. I’m not! I’m a German. A loyal German. You can’t kill me, I’m not one of them. I swear it. I’m not.” The Commandant explains that he doesn’t have to die, “I’m just asking you to lead them.” Helmut looks unwilling to comply. “Not… even to save your own life?” Helmut gives in. “I’m glad to see you’re not a self-appointed martyr. Just think! Now you’re really one of us.”

Helmut asks for some time with the children and they grant him a half hour. He joins the children in the room where they are being kept. “Now I want everyone to put on a big smile and sit down, because we’re going to have more fun than we’ve ever had.” Once more Helmut Doork clowns with the children. The guards come to get the children. The children want to know what is going on. Helmut tells them “They… want us to move to another building… where we’ll have more room… to play. Tell you what. Let’s make it a big circus parade. Everybody get in line behind…” With that, Helmut marches the children through the prison yard, all the while hoping for some miracle, and to the open doorway of the gas chamber. He stops outside the door and reluctantly steers the children through. A little girl stops beside Helmut and puts out her hand for him to take. At first he hesitates and the child pulls away, but he then takes her hand and walks through the door with her. The guards lock the door behind them and Helmut gathers the children around him. They all begin to laugh “until the chamber resounds with gentle laughter.”

CUT TO: INSERT: “IF ANOTHER MAN’S CHILD IS THREATENED AND YOU MOVE NOT TO PROTECT IT, THE CHILDREN OF ALL MEN ARE IN JEOPARDY AND YOU STAND AS GUILTY AS THOSE WHO THREATEN.”

FADE OUT: THE END

In the self-righteous, egocentric world that this film seems to occupy, this finale somehow justifies what has happened. It seems to me however, at least upon reading the script, that it is little more than a fucked up rationalization for what is a misguided story from word one. Perhaps Lewis made this film with the best intentions and it was not meant to be as pompous and self-serving as it seems. It is however near impossible to conceive that this film would be anything but disturbing to watch and utterly without conscience. Not to say that films have to be pleasant to watch, and quite often a slap in the face ending is quite effective. However, after a couple of hours of pontificating from a clown, the result is something like an overly-long “Hogan’s Heroes” episode with the mass slaughter of children at the end. What on earth were they thinking?

For the myriad reasons to not make this film there seems to be not a single reasonable reason to make it. Comedian Harry Shearer, one of the few who have seen this picture, commented in Spy Magazine that “This movie is so drastically wrong, its pathos and comedy are so badly 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.”

Stories vary as to what exactly did happen to the film. According to the surely unbiased “Official Jerry Lewis Comedy Museum” website, the story goes as follows:

In 1971, producer Nate Waschberger asked Jerry to direct and star in “The Day the Clown Cried,” based on Joan O’Brien’s book by the same name, about a German clown who was arrested by the Gestapo, interred in a concentration camp, and used to march Jewish children into the ovens. Jerry lost close to 40 pounds to play the role. The shooting began in Stockholm, but Waschberger not only ran out of money to complete the film, but he failed to pay Joan O’Brien the money she was owed for the rights to the story. Jerry was forced to finish the picture with his own money. The film has been tied up in litigation ever since, and all of the parties involved have never been able to reach an agreeable settlement. Jerry hopes to someday complete the film, which remains to this day, a significant expression of cinematic art, suspended in the abyss of international litigation.

Whenever asked about the film, Lewis either takes the above stated stance or reacts with utter disdain to even being bothered with the question. The fact remains that it is this singular, unseen film that has both marred and conversely hyped Lewis’ reputation as a filmmaker to the cinematic community. For his many, largely self-proclaimed innovations as a filmmaker it will always be “The Day the Clown Cried” that people will continuously ponder.

There are many who claim that the film was either so bad, so embarrassing, so debased or some combination thereof, that it was merely Lewis’ decision to bury the film and take the loss in an effort to save face and escape accusations of anti-Semitism (Lewis, himself, being Jewish) as well as preserve his reputation as a humanitarian. Since 1949 Lewis has raised over one billion dollars in the fight against muscular dystrophy, most notably with his annual Labor Day telethon.

In Lewis’ defense, the Holocaust-comedy is not an idea without precedent. It has been done on several occasions with great success. From Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator” to Roberto Begnini’s Oscar Winning “Life Is Beautiful,” filmmakers have managed, strangely though successfully, to derive some humor from one of humankind’s greatest atrocities. Yet these films had that something that “The Day the Clown Cried” (or at least its screenplay) is sorely lacking. Namely, some hint of moral sense. That said, “The Day the Clown Cried” stands as an enormously misguided attempt at “serious” comedy by Lewis that backfired big-time. But, then again maybe it is not such a backfire. By virtue of the fact that it has never been seen, the film has become legendary and has garnered far more attention than it would seem to deserve. From the screenplay it is clear that the film is unbelievably bad. From dialogue to story to characters, there is not much of merit here. It is the audacity of the premise and the legendary arrogance of Lewis that makes this thing so damn intriguing. In infamy “The Day the Clown Cried” has gained a status and aura that few films will ever have and lent far more credence and legend to Lewis as a filmmaker than his “seen” films would ever warrant on their own.

Year after year as he hams it up on his albeit extremely worthwhile telethon, all I can picture is that deranged clown who loved children so much he had to lead them to death and the irony of it all just oozes from my television. Perhaps some day we, the people, will get to see it. Until that day the legend lives on of a film so misguided and preposterous that it should not be seen by the world. Maybe one day, during that annual telethon, Jerry will come out of a song and announce that if he gets enough pledges he will finally let us see this debacle for ourselves… It could, after all, do for clowns what “Howard the Duck” did for ducks.