The Day the Clown Cried
1972 · Movie · 90 min. · United States
In this unfinished movie (Some production footage can be seen online) Helmut Doork, a once great and famous clown, is fired from the circus. 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. Helmut angers his fellow prisoners by refusing to perform for them, wanting to preserve his legend. As times passes, Jews are brought into the camp, with fraternizing between them and the other prisoners strictly prohibited. Eventually, Helmut is forced by the others to perform or be beaten. His act bombs and he leaves the barracks depressed, trying the routine out again alone in the prison yard. He hears laughter and sees a group of Jewish children watching him through a fence. Happy to be appreciated again, he makes a makeshift clown suit and begins to regularly perform. His audience grows, but a new prison Commandant orders Helmut to stop. When he refuses and continues to perform, he's beaten and thrown in solitary confinement. But the Nazis soon come up with a use for Helmut, keeping.
Direction Jerry Lewis
Cast Jerry Lewis · Peter Ahlm · Lars Amble · Harriet Andersson · Jonas Bergström · Carl Billquist · Claude Bolling · Tomas Bolme · Curt Broberg · Bo Brundin · Johnny Cacao · Anton Diffring · Nils Eklund · Victor Fratellini · Jane Birkin · Serge Gainsbourg · Michel Garland
Screenplay Jerry Lewis · Joan O'Brien · Charles Denton
Cinematography Rune Ericson
Original title The Day the Clown Cried
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Not rated (FilmAffinity)
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