Jerry Lewis once said that he will never let anyone see The Day The Clown Cried, his infamous Holocaust comedy, until his death. He was really serious about that, even when he gave the Library of Congress a copy of it.
Buried in a fascinating Los Angeles Times story about silent movie fans who help identify reels of unknown films during the “Mostly Lost” Film Festival, Rob Stone, the moving-image curator at the Library of Congress, was asked if they did have a copy of The Day The Clown Cried.
However, Lewis had one request: the film can’t be screened for 10 years, notes Indiewire.
Unfortunately, that’s all the info the LA Times revealed. It wasn’t clear if no one at the LOC was allowed to see the film or if Lewis meant that no one can see it publicly for 10 years. Stone also didn’t say when Lewis gave them the film. Whatever the case may be, you have to make sure your 2025 calendar is clear.
For those who don’t know about The Day The Clown Cried, the film was at least mostly completed in 1972, when Lewis was trying to be taken seriously as a filmmaker. In it, he plays a clown who is sent to a concentration camp after criticizing Hitler. There, he is forced to entertain children who are sent to die.
Behind-the-scenes footage of the film miraculously popped up on YouTube in August 2013, although the footage did not include any completed scenes from the film.
Lewis, who finally got his handprints in cement in front of the TCL Chinese Theatre last year, turned 89 in March.
screenshot from YouTube video