>The film tells the story of a German circus clown who is imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp for mocking Adolf Hitler and is then forced to lure children to their deaths as punishment.
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>In addition to directing the film, Lewis plays the role of the clown Helmut Doork. The film’s cast also includes French and Swedish actors.
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>Why the film was never released
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>While there were several alleged issues during the shoot itself, problems reportedly arose between Lewis and producer Nat Wachsberger once filming stopped, the main catalyst for the film being shelved.
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>Lewis was reportedly unhappy with the film’s financing and announced that Wachsberger did not fulfill his obligations. Hearing this, Wachsberger threatened to sue Lewis for breach of contract, resulting in a fallout between the two that caused Lewis to leave with a rough cut of the film, according to a 2018 feature in The New York Times.
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>Edit: Formatting
My father (b. 1919) absolutely hated Jerry Lewis for some reason. I don’t think he could actually put it into words. It was always a curiosity. He’d get really angry that I wanted to watch his muscular dystrophy telethons with my friend. I think I might now guess that he viewed Jerry as a spoiled mama’s boy who could run around being a smart mouth jackass and get rewarded. It was something he would never have been afforded in any way in his upbringing. Possible envy even.
The article doesn’t say when and where it will screen.
Kinda the main thing, right?
It’s not supposed to be screen until at least June, per Lewis’ wishes
Oh this I need to see. Legendary unseen film that tanked his career.
Took long enough
I read the plot and my reaction is “fuck that” and eeew. It’s fucking cheap masturbatory exploitation. I felt bad about it until my Jewish friend told me he hated the movie “life is beautiful” which is kinda similar.
I think there’s historical interest because it’s a Jerry Lewis movie, but the fact that they never released it, because supposedly money disagreements, tells me the embarrassment I feel reading the plot is probably more common than I think.
7 comments
From the article:
>The film tells the story of a German circus clown who is imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp for mocking Adolf Hitler and is then forced to lure children to their deaths as punishment.
>
>In addition to directing the film, Lewis plays the role of the clown Helmut Doork. The film’s cast also includes French and Swedish actors.
>
>Why the film was never released
>
>While there were several alleged issues during the shoot itself, problems reportedly arose between Lewis and producer Nat Wachsberger once filming stopped, the main catalyst for the film being shelved.
>
>Lewis was reportedly unhappy with the film’s financing and announced that Wachsberger did not fulfill his obligations. Hearing this, Wachsberger threatened to sue Lewis for breach of contract, resulting in a fallout between the two that caused Lewis to leave with a rough cut of the film, according to a 2018 feature in The New York Times.
>
>
>
>Edit: Formatting
My father (b. 1919) absolutely hated Jerry Lewis for some reason. I don’t think he could actually put it into words. It was always a curiosity. He’d get really angry that I wanted to watch his muscular dystrophy telethons with my friend. I think I might now guess that he viewed Jerry as a spoiled mama’s boy who could run around being a smart mouth jackass and get rewarded. It was something he would never have been afforded in any way in his upbringing. Possible envy even.
The article doesn’t say when and where it will screen.
Kinda the main thing, right?
It’s not supposed to be screen until at least June, per Lewis’ wishes
Oh this I need to see. Legendary unseen film that tanked his career.
Took long enough
I read the plot and my reaction is “fuck that” and eeew. It’s fucking cheap masturbatory exploitation. I felt bad about it until my Jewish friend told me he hated the movie “life is beautiful” which is kinda similar.
I think there’s historical interest because it’s a Jerry Lewis movie, but the fact that they never released it, because supposedly money disagreements, tells me the embarrassment I feel reading the plot is probably more common than I think.