# The Day The Clown Cried - 27 Minutes of assembled footage **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [December 28, 2024, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-clown-cried-27-minutes-of-assembled-footage/1012285 "2024-12-28T23:38:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-clown-cried-27-minutes-of-assembled-footage/1012285/1 "2024-12-28T23:38:25Z")
I’ve seen many clips before, but someone has edited together all(?) of the footage from this vaulted movie and it comes to 27 minutes. Some decent stuff. I really does not look like a bad movie from the clips we see here, but Jerry Lewis obviously did not like it. I am still hoping the whole thing will either be released or leak to the internet one day. You can see what we have here: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/NoM40lkkeAE/hqdefault.jpg "The Day The Clown Cried (1972) Unreleased Film - 27 Min Reconstruction") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoM40lkkeAE) ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-clown-cried-27-minutes-of-assembled-footage/1012285/2 "2024-12-28T23:43:37Z")
It seems to be “cried” not “died.” I was unfamiliar with the movie, by any name; [here is some context.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_the_Clown_Cried) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-clown-cried-27-minutes-of-assembled-footage/1012285/3 "2024-12-28T23:48:40Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > It seems to be “cried” not “died.” I was unfamiliar with the movie, by any name; [here is some context.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_the_Clown_Cried) . Yes, I should probably explain. This is a movie that Jerry Lewis made in the early 1970’s and then chose not to release. It is probably the most famous buried movie out there, in the sense he managed to keep it buried and no release or leak ever really occurred. Last I’d hear, the Library of Congress has a copy, but won’t let it be viewable? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-clown-cried-27-minutes-of-assembled-footage/1012285/4 "2024-12-28T23:50:19Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > It seems to be “cried” not “died.” I was unfamiliar with the movie, by any name; [here is some context.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_the_Clown_Cried) Dang. That’s an even more depressing plot summary than _The Boy in Striped Pajamas_. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-clown-cried-27-minutes-of-assembled-footage/1012285/5 "2024-12-28T23:56:50Z")
Yeah, plot-wise that would be a very tricky movie to make. The danger that it would turn out sloppy and maudlin is pretty high, given the heartstring-tugging nature of the plot. And it is hard to imagine anything more cringy than using the Holocaust for cheap cinematic emotional manipulation. ETA: Harry Shearer saw the movie, such as it is, and said: > “if you flew down to [Tijuana](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tijuana) and suddenly saw a [painting on black velvet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velvet_painting) of Auschwitz. You’d just think ‘My God, wait a minute!’ It’s not funny, and it’s not good, and somebody’s trying too hard in the wrong direction to convey this strongly-held feeling.” HAH! ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2024, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-clown-cried-27-minutes-of-assembled-footage/1012285/6 "2024-12-29T00:05:51Z")
We had some discussion of this a few months ago; apparently this footage was in a couple documentaries: > [@The Day the Clown Cried](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-clown-cried/69413/): > > I have been tasked by my friends to locate a copy of this Lewis [Masterpiece](http://www.filmthreat.com/Features.asp?File=FeaturesOne.inc&Id=258). Anyone have a line on it? The Screenplay perhaps? Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2024, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-clown-cried-27-minutes-of-assembled-footage/1012285/7 "2024-12-29T00:31:25Z")
I’ve always heard that it was bad, I never heard that it had a budget of three dollars. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2024, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-clown-cried-27-minutes-of-assembled-footage/1012285/8 "2024-12-29T00:39:05Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > We had some discussion of this a few months ago Which was a bumped thread from 2001. It has been mentioned in numerous threads here, but here’s another dedicated one: > [@"Day the Clown Cried" footage finally available](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/day-the-clown-cried-footage-finally-available/665974): > > “The Day The Clown Cried”, the infamous Jerry Lewis film about a clown sent to Auschwitz, finally has footage available…sort of. It’s actually behind the scenes footage from the making of the film, from a Belgian special about Lewis. It’s almost certainly going to be pulled soon, so [enjoy it while you can.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJai18eys0M)