It Was All Bad,’ Lewis Said of the Film in 2013. Lewis made the film, about a clown who leads children into Nazi gas chambers, in 1972 but it was tied up in litigation with the producer and remained unreleased for years. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Lewis wrote, directed and starred in The Day the Clown Cried, the fictional story of a washed-up circus clown imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp. Some Gestapo agents are present and arrest him. The top may have burned readily, but the sides were not coated with the mixture – since many people escaped through cuts in the sides of the tent, it's possible that not waterproofing the sides saved a lot of lives. At the same time, Fred Bradna, the ringmaster, encouraged the audience to quickly and efficiently exit the tent without rushing. Back in 1972, Jerry Lewis made a film entitled The Day The Clown Cried. Historically, there have been all kinds of horrifying incidents: lion tamers getting mauled, aerialists falling from high wires, and even train collisions. Lewis repeatedly vowed to any fan or journalist who asked him that he would never release “The Day The Clown Cried,” often curtly shutting … Jerry Lewis even was interviewed for it. So any statement from him about it being bad, can really be taken as him being a perfectionist and never satisfied with his work. Due to the controversial subject matter, it was never released. Getting drunk at a local bar, he pokes fun at Hitler in front of some Gestapo agents, who arrest and send him to a prison camp. He gives his best dramatic performance in the scenes that are shown, and the ending is very sad and touching. Intrigued, I searched out articles discussing the film, and why it was never released. The day the clowns cried: The story of the Hartford circus fire . Personally reading his version of the script in comparison to her original work, his is better. Helmut Doork, a once great and famous clown, is fired from the circus. A small fire broke out near the edge of the tent; the canvas roof was quickly engulfed in flames; and it all went down in under 10 minutes. The Day the Clown Cried was going to be Jerry Lewis’ Schindler’s List. In “The Day the Clown Cried,” he invented what it looks like when you merge the Holocaust with Hollywood — when you turn it into the Hollycaust. However, she's a psychiatrist who currently has three female patients who don't like men. drmuttonchops3. World War II had a major effect on the home front, with lots of young men away from home in the theaters of battle and extra work to be done in factories to support the war effort, which many women – as emblematized by Rosie the Riveter – took up. Jonathan D. H. Parshall . Comedy. Video Video related to ‘the day the clown cried’: 5 fast … Really dumb if you ask me since he offered her a great deal of money for it. Whatever the excuse, all of the fire safety equipment remained inaccessible in storage at the time of the tragedy. Lists about real catastrophes that caused enormous damage, human casualties, and metric tons of profound suckage. His audience grows, but a new prison Commandant orders Helmut to stop. "When you rule by fear, laughter is the most frightening sound in the world." In the official reports, the Hartford circus fire claimed a total of 167 lives, most of them children. Eventually, Helmut is forced by the others to perform or be beaten. Sadly, from time to time, things do go awry. So, he guises ... See full summary », A man (Jerry Lewis) is told by his doctor (Peter Lawford), and best friend, that he has a terminal illness. They used "a mixture of four parts Texaco White Gasoline and one part Standard Oil Company Yellow Paraffin Wax," which they poured onto the canvas tarps and brushed into the fabric with brooms. THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY By JOAN O'BRIEN And CHARLES DENTON Based on a Story Idea by JOAN O'BRIEN Additional Material by Jerry Lewis I TOOK A CHILD BY THE HAND... TO LEAD HIM ON HIS WAY. Getting drunk at a local bar, he pokes fun at Hitler in front of some Gestapo agents, who arrest and send him to a prison camp. 12:05 "The Day the Clown Cried" (2/9) drmuttonchops3. To this day,Continue Reading Scooby-Doo! Written by His act bombs and he leaves the barracks depressed, trying the routine out again alone in the prison yard. They spent the next days searching through rows of bodies in a makeshift morgue, some of which were never positively identified. I TOLD HIM OF THE LOVE OF GOD... AND TAUGHT HIM HOW TO PRAY. ‘The Day the Clown Cried’: Why Jerry Lewis’s Lost Holocaust Film Is Still Lost. The majority of the circus fire casualties were women and children, which was likely because so many adults, especially men, were away from home or working. The town of Hartford, Connecticut, was playing host to the famous circus, and people of all ages were gathering beneath the tent to get out of the heat and enjoy the performances and human circus attractions. ... See full summary ». 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. When will this film be released to the public. Helmut angers his fellow prisoners by refusing to perform for them, wanting to preserve his legend. He's still confused over this not being funny and a comedy.... Comedians make dramatic movies sometimes??? Although Lewis wrote, directed, and starred in the 1972 film, he chose to bury it. They were performing with the Ringling Brothers that fateful day in July and were only about 20 minutes into their act when the fire started. 18:09. They managed to get down quickly without injury, as the band leader switched songs to "Stars and Stripes Forever." It is also – on account of its subject, the holocaust, and its director-actor, the comic star Jerry Lewis – one of the most intriguing. After seeing parts of the movie, it's confusing why she thought it was terrible. Pictures of the Hartford circus fire, as well as those of "Little Miss 1565" and "sad clown" Emmett Kelly carrying water in a futile attempt to stop the blaze, created a tragically unforgettable view of one of the worst tragedies in performing arts history – "The Day the Clowns Cried.". 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