In the fateful year of 1972, Jerry Lewis, a renowned actor and filmmaker, embarked on a daring endeavor. He directed and starred in a poignant film chronicling the story of a circus performer, unjustly imprisoned in a concentration camp, tasked with entertaining innocent Jewish children destined for the gas chambers. Tragically, this heart-wrenching tale, titled 'The Day the Clown Cried,' never made its way to the silver screen.
However, a rare glimpse into this legendary lost film will now be unveiled at the prestigious Venice Film Festival this year. The unreleased footage will be showcased in a documentary titled 'From Darkness to Light,' directed by Michael Lurie and Eric Friedler. This poignant documentary, to be screened in Venice's Classics section dedicated to documentaries about cinema, promises to reveal never-before-seen footage of Lewis' ambitious yet ultimately shelved project.
Lewis himself, a comedy icon and actor of immense talent, helmed the film in 1972, portraying the fictional German circus performer Helmut Doork. Doork, who dares to mock Hitler, is sentenced to a concentration camp where he is compelled to amuse the doomed Jewish children. However, Lewis kept the entire film under wraps, and to this day, the world has never witnessed the completed masterpiece. In 2013, Lewis himself expressed regret, saying, "It could have been wonderful, but I slipped up… I didn't quite get it."
Seven fleeting minutes of the film have surfaced online, and in 2015, Lewis donated a version to the Library of Congress, stipulating that 'The Day the Clown Cried' should not be screened until 2025. Tragically, Lewis passed away in 2017, aged 91, leaving the film's legacy as an enduring mystery.
Now, the Venice Film Festival organizers have confirmed that a compelling exploration of the film's making and Lewis' subsequent self-criticism will be screened in Venice. This revelation comes as part of the festival's announcement of the full lineup for the 81st Venice Film Festival, set to commence on August 28 with the world premiere of 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,' Tim Burton's sequel to his 1988 horror-comedy smash hit, screening out of competition.
