The Lingering Mystery of Jerry Lewis’s Lost Film: His Son’s Quest to Unearth “The Day the Clown Cried”
The specter of “The Day the Clown Cried,” a film so controversial and fraught with misfortune that it remains largely unseen, continues to haunt the legacy of legendary comedian Jerry Lewis. For decades, the film, a deeply unconventional and arguably unsettling departure from Lewis’s signature slapstick, has been shrouded in mystery, existing primarily as a whispered legend within the film industry. Now, Chris Lewis, Jerry Lewis’s son, is driven by a passionate quest to locate the missing elements of the film and potentially bring his father’s most debated work to light.
In 1972, at the height of his fame, Jerry Lewis embarked on a daring creative venture. Leaving the familiar shores of Hollywood, he traveled to Europe to write, direct, and star in “The Day the Clown Cried.” The narrative centers on a circus clown, played by Lewis himself, who is captured by the Nazis during World War II and ultimately finds himself in a concentration camp. The film takes an even darker turn when the clown befriends the Jewish children imprisoned there, eventually leading them to their tragic fate in the gas chamber.
The premise itself sparked controversy and unease. Many found the notion of juxtaposing the Holocaust with comedic elements to be inherently offensive and in poor taste. The film was besieged by problems from the beginning, ultimately preventing its official release. Only fleeting glimpses of footage have ever reached the public eye, fueling the intrigue and debate surrounding its existence.
The behind-the-scenes turmoil that plagued the production is explored in detail in the 2024 documentary, "From Darkness to Light." This film sheds light on the various challenges, legal battles, and financial woes that ultimately contributed to the film’s downfall. Chris Lewis, who has dedicated a significant portion of his life to preserving his father’s legacy, has been searching for the complete version of “The Day the Clown Cried” for the last 30 years.
“It’s been a 30-year quest,” Chris told Fox News Digital. “And we have had some pieces found. There’s a rough cut that’s 30 minutes shy of the final version… I have made that one of my personal goals, to try to find the elements of the film and then see if we can get the rights, or find out where the rights are, and try to put them together.”
Jerry Lewis passed away in 2017 at the age of 91. This year, the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival (AJFF) is honoring his memory. Chris will be present at the festival for the screening of “From Darkness to Light.” He carries his father’s blessing in his ongoing search.
"My dad gave me all the production materials for the film, including his shooting scripts," he explained. "I’ve been archiving my dad’s life since the ‘70s. I’m like the keeper of the flame. I’ve read through hundreds of documents, and it was fascinating to me. But it seemed that as the decades passed, there would be a chance that the film was gone… But I’m determined to find the missing elements and put it all together.”
The initial seeds of the film’s problems were sown early on. Joan O’Brien and Charles Denton originally scripted the movie, according to The New York Times. Production was already underway when Lewis discovered that O’Brien had not been properly compensated for her work, and the story rights had not been secured.
In his memoir, Lewis revealed that his producer had "skipped town" without settling the rights and other incurred expenses. The Times reported that Lewis encountered considerable difficulty in bridging the gaps as checks began to bounce. He personally lost an estimated $2 million as a result.
The growing number of lawsuits and mounting debts prevented the film from ever being completed. "It was embroiled in so many legal battles on three continents that it was just absolutely impossible to release it," Chris explained. "The producer skipped town with the money, never paid the writer for the rights."
Contrary to some reports, Joan O’Brien did not harbor negative feelings towards the film. "That’s not true. I have a letter proving that she was in tears when she saw it," Chris clarified. "She was just a little disappointed that he didn’t use more of her dialogue."
"The film just could not be put together," Chris shared. "There were some negatives in France, some in Sweden. It was a French-Swedish co-production. The producer just torpedoed the whole thing from day one. And my dad, he could never get any of the big studios to jump in when he was trying to sell his 117-minute final cut of the film. He finally gave up in 1974 and shipped it back to Sweden." The Times further stated that Lewis retained partial negatives, while the remainder may be located in France and Sweden.
In 2016, a 30-minute sample of the film was leaked online. The following year, French film critic Jean-Michel Frodon claimed to Vanity Fair that he had seen a cut of the film in the early 2000s.
When the Library of Congress acquired Lewis’s archives in 2015, The Los Angeles Times reported that the library’s moving-image curator, Rob Stone, indicated that the library possessed whole negatives that were not to be released until 2024. However, Stone later clarified that the library only had partial negatives, consisting of approximately 90 minutes of unedited camera rushes without sound, housed in 13 cans. There was also behind-the-scenes footage. Stone also mentioned that he had been contacted by someone claiming to be a rights owner.
Despite the significant challenges, Chris remains optimistic that "The Day the Clown Cried" will eventually find its audience. "I always see the glass as half-full versus half-empty," he said. "I’m optimistic that with the rough-cut footage that is available, if we can find any of the footage shot in France, that would allow us to at least put together something… But unfortunately, when Europa Films went out of business, they were filling dumpsters with old films that they couldn’t identify. My dad’s final cut may have gone in that dumpster," Chris admitted.
Throughout his life, Jerry Lewis expressed conflicting sentiments regarding the potential release of the film. In 2013, at the Cannes Film Festival, Lewis described "The Day the Clown Cried" as "all bad." "It was bad because I lost the magic," he said. "You will never see it, no one will ever see it, because I am embarrassed at the poor work."
However, in the documentary "From Darkness to Light," filmed months before his death, Lewis spoke of the "heartbreak" he felt over not being able to finish and release the film.
"The second half of the ‘60s was not good for his career," Chris explained. "The whole film industry was changing, and the studios were trying to put him in hipper sex comedies… He struggled through the end of the ‘60s. He had seen the original script of ‘The Day the Clown Cried,’ he said, 10 years earlier in the early ‘60s," Chris shared. "And in 1971, when it was presented to him, he thought it might be the right time in his life to do something like that. It was a very meaningful script for him and the subject matter. And more than that, he was a clown. He understood the clown from the inside out."
The controversial plot of the film held a personal significance for Lewis. "My dad was born into a vaudevillian family," Chris explained. "His parents were vaudeville entertainers. They were living the bohemian lifestyle. Therefore, my dad was left with his grandmother. He described his childhood as ‘tears of loneliness.’ So the clown came out of him to be accepted, to be loved. The clown is the root of the love in his life, and all the good things came from his ability to be that clown and interpret the world and life from that point of view."
"And the humor [in the film] was for the children," Chris continued. "Comedy became their outlet. That was the warm, fuzzy blanket my dad put around himself when he could make children laugh at him."
Chris recalled his attempts to discuss the film with his father over the years, encountering resistance before Lewis eventually opened up. "People kept pestering him so much about it," said Chris. "It became something he hated in private conversations… But when I told him about wanting to write my book [‘Jerry Lewis on Being a Person’] and wanting to tell the true stories about how felt, he thought it was a great idea. He said, ‘You’re the only one that can tell that story.’ I was his road manager for years… he wouldn’t answer more than two questions [about the film] and then he’d change the subject," said Chris. "But I did get quite a bit out of him over the years."
Chris believes there are valuable lessons to be learned from his father’s life. "Laughter is very healing," he said. "I can tell you personally of stories that I’ve heard all over the world about how my dad’s humor helped people through the toughest times in their lives. He would say, ‘I was falling down and making faces. What are you talking about being important?’ I said to him, ‘You have no idea how you touched people.’"
"He knew he was loved," Chris reflected. "He knew there was more he wanted to do. But he was very happy with what he achieved. He said, ‘I’ve done it all, and I’m happy with what I’ve done. I wouldn’t go back and do anything differently.’"
"From Darkness to Light" will be screened at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. Chris Lewis will also be signing his book, "Jerry Lewis on Being a Person," providing further insights into the life and legacy of his iconic father.
