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I can't wait to see The Day the Clown Cried. I want to see if my reaction to this is similar to my reaction to Life Is Beautiful and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. I hated them, though I concede they were technically good movies.
All Hail, Helmut Doork!
Fascinating. Thanks for this info.
I'd like to point out this was not Jerry Lewis's only WWII movie that dealt with Hitler. His other non-controversial one was Which Way To The Front (1970) - a movie I always enjoyed and which I thought could work under a different treatment even as a serious adventure along the lines of The Dirty Dozen or Inglourious Basterds.
As to subject matter... I was disappointed that the movie Auto Focus (2002 - the story of Bob Crane) never delved into how Hogan's Heroes was made into a prime-time TV sit-com. I've always wondered what kind of pitch was made to green light a comedy about Nazis and POW's to air on TV in the mid 1960's.
I'd like to point out this was not Jerry Lewis's only WWII movie that dealt with Hitler. His other non-controversial one was Which Way To The Front (1970) - a movie I always enjoyed and which I thought could work under a different treatment even as a serious adventure along the lines of The Dirty Dozen or Inglourious Basterds.
As to subject matter... I was disappointed that the movie Auto Focus (2002 - the story of Bob Crane) never delved into how Hogan's Heroes was made into a prime-time TV sit-com. I've always wondered what kind of pitch was made to green light a comedy about Nazis and POW's to air on TV in the mid 1960's.
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Yikes. I've heard that this movie had some sort of limbo-land existence, but between the content and being unfinished, it would probably just stay "lost". I'd like to be able to stream it, so I could see what could make a movie like this either work or not work, but it's more like a clinical/analytical interest. Aside from a few of those old Jerry Lewis comedies I saw as a kid, I've otherwise never liked him. His edge between cringe-worthy comedy, seriousness and being a generally acerbic person gave him no appeal to me.
Comparing it to Hogan's Heroes is interesting. I recall seeing re-runs of that and being aware of the cringe-worthy content....a funny POW camp and lovable nazis, but I also recall actor Werner Klemperer (the POW camp commander), in an interview, talking about it. He was Jewish, son of a famous exiled orchestra conductor, and remarked that, if the nazis and the history could steal his sense of humor, they might as well kill him.
https://propagander.tripod.com/hh.html
Comparing it to Hogan's Heroes is interesting. I recall seeing re-runs of that and being aware of the cringe-worthy content....a funny POW camp and lovable nazis, but I also recall actor Werner Klemperer (the POW camp commander), in an interview, talking about it. He was Jewish, son of a famous exiled orchestra conductor, and remarked that, if the nazis and the history could steal his sense of humor, they might as well kill him.
https://propagander.tripod.com/hh.html
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Yikes. I've heard that this movie had some sort of limbo-land existence, but between the content and being unfinished, it would probably just stay "lost". I'd like to be able to stream it, so I could see what could make a movie like this either work or not work, but it's more like a clinical/analytical interest. Aside from a few of those old Jerry Lewis comedies I saw as a kid, I've otherwise never liked him. His edge between cringe-worthy comedy, seriousness and being a generally acerbic person gave him no appeal to me.
Comparing it to Hogan's Heroes is interesting. I recall seeing re-runs of that and being aware of the cringe-worthy content....a funny POW camp and lovable nazis, but I also recall actor Werner Klemperer (the POW camp commander), in an interview, talking about it. He was Jewish, son of a famous exiled orchestra conductor, and remarked that, if the nazis and the history could steal his sense of humor, they might as well kill him.
https://propagander.tripod.com/hh.html
Comparing it to Hogan's Heroes is interesting. I recall seeing re-runs of that and being aware of the cringe-worthy content....a funny POW camp and lovable nazis, but I also recall actor Werner Klemperer (the POW camp commander), in an interview, talking about it. He was Jewish, son of a famous exiled orchestra conductor, and remarked that, if the nazis and the history could steal his sense of humor, they might as well kill him.
https://propagander.tripod.com/hh.html
Trivia: Werner's last acting credit was voicing Colonel Klink on the Simpsons (as Klink was Homer's guardian angel!)
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