Often considered the apex of Jerry Lewis’s delusional search for comedy, the movie “The Day The Clown Cried” is the largest smear and/or question mark in his prolonged career. I’ve seen a script (it’s been widely circulated in Hollywood for years, often getting celebrity filled table reads at comedy clubs), and hoo buddy is it bad. Harry Shearer is the only person who has claimed to see it, and it will only be seen by us mere mortals some time in the 2040’s thanks to Mr. Lewis endowing it to the Library of Congress.
Elevator pitch of “Clown”: Jerry Lewis plays a clown that cheers up kids at a children’s concentration camp. Let that sink in for a second.
But now, some enterprising film buff has found 30 minutes or so of footage and has put it on line. I strongly recommend watching it now before it’s gone tomorrow.
https://youtu.be/n9zy-VQLL9I