September 3, 2024 Footage from Jerry Lewis' Film 'The Day the Clown Cried' Opens for Research at Library of Congress

For the first time, the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center at the Library of Congress is making material from Jerry Lewis’ unfinished Holocaust film “The Day the Clown Cried” available for research use.

The Library holds a portion of pre-print material from the film, however, the Library does not hold the complete film.

Lewis rewrote, directed and starred in the film as a German circus clown imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp who entertains Jewish children in the camp.

During Lewis’ visit to the Library's Culpeper campus in October 2015, he spoke of his deep emotional connection to the subject matter, which caused great pain and regret when he was unable to finish the film.

When Lewis’ personal collection was acquired by the Library in 2014, a gift/purchase agreement signed on Aug. 27, 2014, placed a 10-year restriction on some of the materials until August 2024. The Library is now providing onsite access to the material for viewing and listening only.

After reviewing the material, archivists determined the Library holds 13 silent color negative film reels, nine ¼ inch audiotape reels, and six reels of silent color reversal behind the scenes footage. All of these materials have been digitized for research access and preservation. The film and sound do not appear to match, however, and more research will be required to determine whether any portions of film and sound may align, film archivists said.

The Library’s holdings include:

• Film dailies (raw, unedited production footage) with total running time of about 90 minutes, which includes wide shots and close-ups from scenes mainly pertaining to the concentration camp in the film.
• Audio with total running time of about 106 minutes, not including other tracks.
• Notes and behind-the-scenes material, including three hours of behind-the-scenes film footage, and other information related to the film.
• The Library may have related incidental music on audiocassettes.

The film footage and audio material can be viewed or listened to onsite at the Library’s Moving Image Research Center or Recorded Sound Research Centerlocated in Washington, D.C. Advance bookings of appointments are strongly recommended in order to ensure requested materials are available on the day of a research visit and to ensure availability of research space. More information can be found on the research centers’ websites.

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