Review: Jerry Lewis’ Infamous Holocaust Film ‘From Darkness to Light’ Resurfaces

In 1971, Jerry Lewis, America’s most beloved comedian, set out to create his magnum opus. “The Day the Clown Cried” was an ambitious Holocaust story about Helmut Doork, a hapless party entertainer who becomes a death camp pied piper. Lewis took on the role of director and lead actor, managing every aspect of the troubled shoot in Sweden. However, the project fell apart disastrously and the film was never released, becoming a legend buried forever, and with good reason.

Enter Michael Lurie and Eric Friedler and their documentary “From Darkness to Light,” which revisits the wreckage of this endeavor. The documentary examines the missteps and, most intriguingly, reveals extended segments of a film destined to remain unfinished. Comprising much of its runtime, “From Darkness to Light” pieces together interviews from Ferne Pearlstein’s 2016 documentary “The Last Laugh” with new insights from figures like Martin Scorsese and Harry Shearer. Shearer is notably one of the few people to have seen the rough cut. The highlight, however, is Jerry Lewis himself, speaking candidly shortly before his 2017 death. Lewis reflects that “The Day the Clown Cried” was almost wonderful, almost perfect, but this translates to it being an outright disaster.

Comedians often say that failure is more fun than success. Yet, Lewis’s experience might be the exception, as there was nothing funny about “The Day the Clown Cried.” From its nightmarish production to the bungled execution, the film was a mess. One commentator argues that the film’s critical mistake was focusing on the Holocaust instead of broader Nazism, citing Mel Brooks’s success with “The Producers.” Another suggests that it might have been ahead of its time, pointing to Roberto Benigni’s Oscar-winning “Life is Beautiful.” Yet, Lewis himself remains bitter, simply stating, “It was bad work.” Even decades later, the sting is evident.

“The Day the Clown Cried” was initially supported by notable figures like Jean-Luc Godard, who hailed Lewis as a genius, and Ingmar Bergman, who arranged for Harriet Andersson to play Helmut’s wife. The fundamental issue was the film’s approach. Harry Shearer summarizes it succinctly: “It’s not a comedy. It’s a serious piece of work. That’s the problem.” Had Lewis been a different performer with a different fanbase, or if he had stuck to his comedic roots, the outcome might have been different. Instead, his desire to make a serious film led to a devastating failure.

We often imagine that the most significant cinematic failures are wild spectacles of bad taste, but the truth might be less thrilling. Based on clips recovered and restored by the filmmakers, “The Day the Clown Cried” is simply terrible. The film is heavy and sorrowful. The actors deliver their lines robotically. Helmut is seen playfully snagging his nose on barbed wire, annoying the guards. “When you’re ruled by fear, laughter is the most frightening sound in the world,” says a fellow inmate, likely referring to the listless titters of Jewish children watching from the other side of the fence. It is these children who Helmut will eventually lead to the gas chamber.

Though Lurie and Friedler’s documentary sometimes feels rudimentary, the story they tell is compelling. Lewis appears deeply affected by the experience, almost confusing himself with his character Helmut. It’s as though failing to complete and release the film left him trapped with it, reliving its darkest moments as if they were real. “There’s not a day in my life when I don’t think about it,” Lewis admits. “I remember walking 65 children into the oven. It was hard, very hard.” Misconceived and poorly executed, “The Day the Clown Cried” convinced none of the few who saw it but left an indelible mark on its creator, haunting him to his grave.

“From Darkness to Light” screened at the Venice Film Festival.

Source: Venice Film Festival