US comedian, director and singer Jerry Lewis on set of The Day the Clown Cried, March 22, 1972. Photo: AFP
US comedian, director and singer Jerry Lewis on set of The Day the Clown Cried, March 22, 1972. Photo: AFP
US comedian, director and singer Jerry Lewis on set of The Day the Clown Cried, March 22, 1972. Photo: AFP
US comedian, director and singer Jerry Lewis on set of The Day the Clown Cried, March 22, 1972. Photo: AFP

Controversial Jerry Lewis film to screen in public for first time after 52 years


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One of cinema’s most sought-after films is set to be screened in public for the first time.

Comedian Jerry Lewis’s controversial holocaust film The Day the Clown Cried, shot in 1972 but never released due to myriad issues with the production, has never been made available in any form, leading the project to reach mythical status in the global film community.

The project, potentially in a semi-unfinished form, is set for a June screening due to a stipulation from Lewis himself. Several years before he died in 2017, a copy was given to the Library of Congress in the US with an agreement it could not be screened in any capacity until this year, though it has since been reported that it may be a rough version.

US comedian, director and singer Jerry Lewis (R) jokes with Pierre Etaix, on March 22, 1972, during the shooting of The Day the Clown Cried. Photo: AFP
US comedian, director and singer Jerry Lewis (R) jokes with Pierre Etaix, on March 22, 1972, during the shooting of The Day the Clown Cried. Photo: AFP

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.

While never shown in public, Lewis showed it to some friends and colleagues in private over the years. Harry Shearer, one of The Simpsons' voice actors, told Spy Magazine in 1992 that he watched the rough cut and branded it a “perfect object”.

American actor and comedian Jerry Lewis sits open mouthed below a picture of Adolf Hitler and holds a film clapper on the set of the film, The Day The Clown Cried, April 14, 1972. Photo: Express Newspapers/Getty Images
American actor and comedian Jerry Lewis sits open mouthed below a picture of Adolf Hitler and holds a film clapper on the set of the film, The Day The Clown Cried, April 14, 1972. Photo: Express Newspapers/Getty Images

In an interview with The New York Times in 2018, Chris Lewis, Lewis’s son, said: “It was something that was very close to his heart."

At other times, however, Lewis denounced the film. In 2013, footage of Lewis surfaced on YouTube in which he stated: "It was bad, and it was bad because I lost the magic. No one will ever see it, because I'm embarrassed at the poor work."

US comedian, director and singer Jerry Lewis (L) talks to Pierre Etaix, on March 22, 1972, during the shooting of the film he directed at the Cirque D'Hiver in Paris. Photo: AFP
US comedian, director and singer Jerry Lewis (L) talks to Pierre Etaix, on March 22, 1972, during the shooting of the film he directed at the Cirque D'Hiver in Paris. Photo: AFP

Lewis apparently had a change of heart, as an agreement was reportedly struck with Rob Stone, the library's moving image curator, in 2014 for a screening 10 years later.

Some have suggested that part of his mixed feelings is the personal cost the film's production took on him. After shooting wrapped, Lewis reportedly found out that cheques from the producer were bouncing and that staff went unpaid. In attempting to close the gaps himself, Lewis lost approximately $2 million, according to his memoir.

Chris recalls the ordeal, saying: “I know my mom was unhappy that he sold our beachfront property on Vancouver Island.”

Where and when will Jerry Lewis's The Day the Clown Cried screen?

No details have been announced however, in 2015, film archivists told New York Post the screening would be held at the National Audio-Visual Conservation Centre, Virginia in June of 2024.

Who will be able to attend is not yet clear. Many have hope that it will receive wider distribution than a single screening, though no announcement has been made as of yet.

Lewis said “the picture must be seen” in his autobiography from 1982.

Looking back at cinema's lost works

The Day the Crown Cried is an example of one of the many films that were once thought lost for ever or not fit for public screening.

Similar films include 1976’s Chess of the Wind by Iranian director Mohammad Reza Aslani.

Lon Chaney as the vampire in the 1927 MGM silent, London After Midnight. Photo: Bettman Archive
Lon Chaney as the vampire in the 1927 MGM silent, London After Midnight. Photo: Bettman Archive

Until it was rediscovered in 2020, the film could only be watched on low-quality VHS tapes. Since then, the film has been restored and screened around the world.

One of the best-known lost films is The Passion of Joan of Arc from 1928. After being lost for years, a copy was found in a Norwegian hospital in the 1980s. The film is now considered one of the most important historical film artefacts.

London After Midnight, a 1927 horror film directed by Tod Browning starring Lon Cheney, is still a veritable white whale for fans after the last known copy was destroyed in the 1965 MGM vault fire.

Other films that have not yet screened because of filmmaker stipulations include 100 Years starring John Malkovich. The short film is from 2015 but has been placed in time-locked safes which won’t open until 2115, 100 years after the film was made.

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While you're here
Skoda Superb Specs

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In the Restaurant: Society in Four Courses
Christoph Ribbat
Translated by Jamie Searle Romanelli
Pushkin Press 

THE SPECS

Engine: Four-cylinder 2.5-litre

Transmission: Seven-speed auto

Power: 165hp

Torque: 241Nm

Price: Dh99,900 to Dh134,000

On sale: now

Engine: 3.5-litre V6

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 290hp

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Monday's results
  • UAE beat Bahrain by 51 runs
  • Qatar beat Maldives by 44 runs
  • Saudi Arabia beat Kuwait by seven wickets
Volunteers offer workers a lifeline

Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.

When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.

Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.

Boxes packed with essential food items were distributed to workers in the Dubai Investments Park and Ras Al Khaimah camps last week. Workers at the Sonapur camp asked for Dh1,600 towards their gas bill.

“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.

Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.

“More than daily food, they are worried about not sending money home for their family,” said Kusum Dutta, a volunteer who works with the Indian consulate.

The Two Popes

Director: Fernando Meirelles

Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce 

Four out of five stars

Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

If you go

The flights
Return flights from Dubai to Santiago, via Sao Paolo cost from Dh5,295 with Emirates


The trip
A five-day trip (not including two days of flight travel) was split between Santiago and in Puerto Varas, with more time spent in the later where excursions were organised by TurisTour.
 

When to go
The summer months, from December to February are best though there is beauty in each season

Stage 2

1. Mathieu van der Poel (NED) Alpecin-Fenix 4:18:30

2. Tadej Pogacar (SLV) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:06

3.  Primoz Roglic (SLV) Jumbo-Visma 0:00:06

4. Wilco Kelderman (NED) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:06

5. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:08

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 Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)  

 Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker

 Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo

 Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP

 Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart

Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)

Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)

Best Women's Player:  Lucy Bronze

Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi

 Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)

 Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)

 Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs

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Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

Profile

Co-founders of the company: Vilhelm Hedberg and Ravi Bhusari

Launch year: In 2016 ekar launched and signed an agreement with Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. In January 2017 ekar launched in Dubai in a partnership with the RTA.

Number of employees: Over 50

Financing stage: Series B currently being finalised

Investors: Series A - Audacia Capital 

Sector of operation: Transport

Updated: April 01, 2024, 12:45 PM