The Day the Clown Cried Jerry Lewis 1972

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 In 1972 Jerry Lewis starred in, directed and co-screenwrote a film about a clown in WWII leading children to the gas chamber. Obviously not his typical fare. Lewis himself decided not to release it. Very few people have seen the final product. Harry Shearer of "The Simpsons" and This Is Spinal Tap is one of the few and interviews with him talking about it can be found online. If it had been released in 1972 I don't think audiences would have been prepared for it, just two years after his zany WWII romp Which Way to the Front. 

King of Comedy showed that Lewis could do drama. I think if the movie had been released it could have slowly found its audience and people could see Lewis as more than just The Nutty Professor.

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