A Jerry Lewis Holocaust movie was shelved for decades—now the mystery might be over
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Disclaimer: At the time of writing, this is still a developing story.
For years, it was Hollywood’s most uncomfortable rumor. A movie so controversial, it was never officially released.
Many believed it had vanished for good—until now. Turns out, it was hiding in a bank vault.
In 1972, comedy icon Jerry Lewis directed and starred in a film unlike anything he had ever done.
The Day the Clown Cried was shot in Stockholm and Paris, telling the story of a German circus clown, Helmut Doork, who’s arrested for mocking Hitler—and ends up performing for
Jewish children in a concentration camp, before being forced to lead them to their deaths.
The film was never released. For decades, only fragments and a scattered reputation survived. No full version was known to exist.
Now, Hans Crispin, a Swedish actor known for the 1980s TV series Angne & Svullo, says he has the whole thing. And the story of how he got it sounds like a heist film.
“I stole it from Europafilm in 1980,” Crispin told Swedish state broadcaster SVT. He claims he copied the footage to VHS in an attic where they duplicated films at night.
Then he hid it in a bank vault. For 45 years. Crispin has quietly shown the film to select guests in his apartment.
“You're the 23rd and 24th people I’ve shown it to," he told reporters from SVT and Icon magazine, who confirmed viewing the complete film.
More like this: You won’t believe who’s playing your favorite DC heroes in the 2025 superman reboot—see the jaw-dropping side-by-side comparisons!
The tone of The Day the Clown Cried is as disorienting as its premise.
Lewis plays the disgraced clown navigating unimaginable moral territory—somewhere between satire, tragedy, and surrealism.
The industry has long debated its intent. Actor Harry Shearer called it “a perfect object,” saying its missteps were so spectacular, no one could dream of anything more misplaced.
Lewis himself said in 1982 that “the picture must be seen.” By 2013, he reversed: “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.”
Crispin says his copy was incomplete—missing a six-minute Paris sequence.
Then in 1990, a mysterious envelope arrived. Inside was the missing reel, sent anonymously, with a note saying that the sender knew he possessed a copy of the rest of the film.
With that final piece, Crispin’s version became the only known full copy of the film.
Crispin says he’s ready to share it with the world. “It must be seen,” he told SVT.
He’s now looking to sell it to a serious producer—someone who could either restore it, keep it locked away, or screen it for academic purposes.
Meanwhile, five hours of raw footage from Lewis’s own collection were donated to the US Library of Congress in 2015.
That footage is restricted until June 2024. A scholar’s preview last year revealed the footage was incomplete—adding weight to Crispin’s claim that only his copy is full.
More like this: A childhood classic is now streaming on Netflix—but that’s not the whole story!
So what stopped the film from ever being released?
Reportedly, a dispute between Lewis and producer Nat Wachsberger derailed the project.
Lewis said Wachsberger failed to fund the film properly, while Wachsberger threatened to sue for breach of contract.
Lewis walked away with a rough cut. Over the years, he shared pieces with friends—but remained ambivalent.
His son Chris Lewis called the film “something that was very close to his heart.”
The Day the Clown Cried now joins the strange lineage of films once considered lost or unreleasable:
Whether The Day the Clown Cried is a misguided artistic risk or a misunderstood work of brilliance is a debate just beginning.
What’s clear is this: The full film exists. It’s whole. It’s waiting.
But whether it belongs in a museum, a classroom, or never seen again—that's up to the next generation to decide.
Read next: He had no idea millions were watching—the unbelievable true story of Japan’s unwitting reality TV star
Would you watch a movie like this—knowing the story behind it? Should lost art stay buried, or does it deserve a second look? Let us know in the comments.
For years, it was Hollywood’s most uncomfortable rumor. A movie so controversial, it was never officially released.
Many believed it had vanished for good—until now. Turns out, it was hiding in a bank vault.
In 1972, comedy icon Jerry Lewis directed and starred in a film unlike anything he had ever done.
The Day the Clown Cried was shot in Stockholm and Paris, telling the story of a German circus clown, Helmut Doork, who’s arrested for mocking Hitler—and ends up performing for
Jewish children in a concentration camp, before being forced to lead them to their deaths.
The film was never released. For decades, only fragments and a scattered reputation survived. No full version was known to exist.
In 1972, a controversial movie was never officially released. Image source: All Things Lost / YouTube
Now, Hans Crispin, a Swedish actor known for the 1980s TV series Angne & Svullo, says he has the whole thing. And the story of how he got it sounds like a heist film.
“I stole it from Europafilm in 1980,” Crispin told Swedish state broadcaster SVT. He claims he copied the footage to VHS in an attic where they duplicated films at night.
Then he hid it in a bank vault. For 45 years. Crispin has quietly shown the film to select guests in his apartment.
“You're the 23rd and 24th people I’ve shown it to," he told reporters from SVT and Icon magazine, who confirmed viewing the complete film.
More like this: You won’t believe who’s playing your favorite DC heroes in the 2025 superman reboot—see the jaw-dropping side-by-side comparisons!
The tone of The Day the Clown Cried is as disorienting as its premise.
Lewis plays the disgraced clown navigating unimaginable moral territory—somewhere between satire, tragedy, and surrealism.
The industry has long debated its intent. Actor Harry Shearer called it “a perfect object,” saying its missteps were so spectacular, no one could dream of anything more misplaced.
Lewis himself said in 1982 that “the picture must be seen.” By 2013, he reversed: “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.”
Crispin says his copy was incomplete—missing a six-minute Paris sequence.
Then in 1990, a mysterious envelope arrived. Inside was the missing reel, sent anonymously, with a note saying that the sender knew he possessed a copy of the rest of the film.
With that final piece, Crispin’s version became the only known full copy of the film.
Crispin says he’s ready to share it with the world. “It must be seen,” he told SVT.
He’s now looking to sell it to a serious producer—someone who could either restore it, keep it locked away, or screen it for academic purposes.
Meanwhile, five hours of raw footage from Lewis’s own collection were donated to the US Library of Congress in 2015.
That footage is restricted until June 2024. A scholar’s preview last year revealed the footage was incomplete—adding weight to Crispin’s claim that only his copy is full.
More like this: A childhood classic is now streaming on Netflix—but that’s not the whole story!
So what stopped the film from ever being released?
Reportedly, a dispute between Lewis and producer Nat Wachsberger derailed the project.
Lewis said Wachsberger failed to fund the film properly, while Wachsberger threatened to sue for breach of contract.
Lewis walked away with a rough cut. Over the years, he shared pieces with friends—but remained ambivalent.
His son Chris Lewis called the film “something that was very close to his heart.”
The Day the Clown Cried now joins the strange lineage of films once considered lost or unreleasable:
- Chess of the Wind (1976), believed lost in Iran, was rediscovered and restored in 2020.
- The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) was found in a Norwegian hospital in the 1980s and is now a cinema classic.
- London After Midnight (1927) remains lost after the 1965 MGM vault fire.
- 100 Years (2015), starring John Malkovich, is sealed until 2115.
- Even Batgirl (2022), shelved by Warner Bros, has joined the ranks of unreleased films due to corporate strategy shifts.
Whether The Day the Clown Cried is a misguided artistic risk or a misunderstood work of brilliance is a debate just beginning.
What’s clear is this: The full film exists. It’s whole. It’s waiting.
But whether it belongs in a museum, a classroom, or never seen again—that's up to the next generation to decide.
Read next: He had no idea millions were watching—the unbelievable true story of Japan’s unwitting reality TV star
