Episode 784: Arizona Dream (1993)

Special Guest: David Atkins
Guest Co-Hosts: Andras Jones, David Rodgers

Emir Kusturica’s Arizona Dream (1993) drifts between deadpan comedy and waking dream, a film where ambition, escape, and American myth collide at odd angles. Written by David Atkins and directed by Emir Kusturica, the film features Johnny Depp as Axel, stranded between New York routine and Arctic fantasia after his cousin (Vincent Gallo) drags him west to Arizona. There, Axel falls into orbit around his Uncle Leo (Jerry Lewis) and the Stalkers--mother and daughter played by Faye Dunaway and Lili Taylor--each chasing a private version of freedom.

Mike, joined by co-hosts Andras Jones and David Rodgers, unpacks how Arizona Dream bends tone and narrative into something closer to folklore than plot, balancing melancholy against absurdity. The conversation explores Kusturica’s outsider view of America, the film’s uneasy relationship with realism, and the way dreams--Inuit or otherwise--function as both refuge and trap. Mike also talks with screenwriter David Atkins about shaping the script, collaborating with Kusturica, and navigating a studio-era release that never quite knew what to do with a movie this strange.

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Music:
"This Is A Film" - Iggy Pop
"Enough Space" - Foo Fighters

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Hans Crispin Stole Jerry Lewis Film That Had Been “Lost” for 45 Years

I'm not sure just how much of this article I believe as I spoke with someone a year ago who works at the Library of Congress and they told me that there is no finished/edited version of The Day the Clown Cied and that all that exists are fragments. But... only time will tell.

In the 1970s, legendary American film star Jerry Lewis shot a movie featuring several of Sweden’s biggest actors. Then it vanished without a trace—until now.

Italian director Roberto Benigni is said to have been inspired by the script of the missing film when he made the classic Life is Beautiful.

Inspired, yes—but he never saw the film. That much is confirmed by actor and TV personality Hans Crispin (yes, Angne from Angne och Svullo).

“You and the photographer are the 23rd and 24th people I’ve shown it to. In 45 years! And I have the only copy. I stole it from Europafilm in 1980 and dubbed it to VHS—in the attic where we used to copy porn at night,” he says.

Hans Crispin decided to tell the story and screen the film for Kulturnyheterna’s Caroline Hainer, a film critic, a few weeks ago. She and the magazine Icon recount the tale in the issue released today (May 28). After that, Kulturnyheterna got to see the film Crispin stole 45 years ago.

But let’s start from the beginning—

The legend of Jerry Lewis’s lost film begins in 1972, when he came to Stockholm to shoot The Day the Clown Cried. A film that stood in stark contrast to the screwball comedies that had made him famous in the 1960s.

But The Day the Clown Cried was something else entirely. Jerry Lewis plays a German clown named Helmut Dork who, during World War II, tries to entertain children in a concentration camp. He makes them laugh all the way to the end—in the gas chamber.

A long list of Sweden’s top actors at the time were hired to play prisoners and Nazi commanders: Lars Amble, Ulf Palme, and Sven Lindberg. Harriet Andersson plays Jerry Lewis’s wife.

But the production ended abruptly. Jerry Lewis left Sweden with the final film reels and decided the film would never be shown. In the mid-2010s, he admitted why: it turned out too badly.

“A Myth”

In 2024, the German documentary From Darkness to Light was screened at the Venice Film Festival. Martin Scorsese appears and refers to the film as a myth.

Online forums call The Day the Clown Cried the Holy Grail of film history. Fragments and clips have been found and stitched together by dedicated enthusiasts. Many hoped a copy of the film might reside in the Library of Congress in Washington, where Lewis donated materials late in life—on the condition that they not be made public until 2025. But on New Year’s Day this year, only a script and partial reels with separate audio were found.

“Ha! I’ve got an original script too,” says Hans Crispin—“in fact, several of them.”

Originally published by SVT Nyheter on May 27, 2025.

Episode 541: Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952)

Special Guests: Michael Barrie, Gary D. Rhodes
Guest Co-Hosts: Fredde Duke, Richard Whitley, Jamie Klein

We are kicking off Shocktober 2021 with a look at William Beaudine’s Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952) which stars Bela Lugosi (as you may have guessed) as well as comedy duo Sammy Petrillo and Duke Mitchell. They’re a knock-off Martin & Lewis team and they’re found on a little island in the Pacific that is populated by stock footage of African animals.

Rich Whitley, Jamie Klein, and Fredde Duke join Mike to discuss the film as well as Fredde's documentary about her father, producer Maurice Duke, Fuck 'Em. Screenwriter Michael Barrie also stops by as well.

Mike also speaks with writer Gary D. Rhodes about his work including his latest two-volume set, Becoming Dracula: The Early Years of Bela Lugosi.

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Links:
Become a supporter of The Projection Booth
Buy Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla on DVD
Buy Shangri-La from Something Weird Video

Music:
"It's Too Soon to Know" - Duke Mitchell

Sponsor:
This episode was brought you by Storyblocks

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Episode 335: The Bellboy (1960)

Special Guests: Shawn Levy
Guest Co-Hosts: Craig Bierko, Peter Flynn

The 1960 directorial debut from Jerry Lewis, The Bellboy, also stars Lewis in the titular role. He's Stanley, a put upon hotel worker at the Fountainbleu hotel in Miami. The film doesn’t necessarily have a three act plot per se but is more an opportunity for a string of gags.

Filmmaker Peter Flynn and actor Craig Bierko join Mike to discuss The Bellboy as well as many other aspects of Lewis's career. Special guest Shawn Levy is the author of King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis.

Please note that Craig Bierko is an ardent supporter of Loma Linda University Children's Hospital (LLUCH), pioneers of the first infant heart transplant. Please help LLUCH keep its pledge to never turn away any child in need by texting KIDS at 27722 and donating $10 instantly from your phone bill.

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Listen to "Episode 335: The Bellboy (1960)" on Spreaker.

Links:
Buy The Bellboy on DVD
Buy King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis by Shawn Levy
Buy the Pierre Etaix collection
Buy Funny Bones on DVD
Buy UnReal on DVD
Buy Dying of the Light on DVD
Hear more of Peter Flynn on the Dying of the Light episode
Hear more of Craig Bierko on the Strange Brew and Thirteenth Floor episodes

Music:
"Jack the Bellboy" - Lionel Hampton
"Hey Bellboy" - Gloria Wood

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Episode 165: The King of Comedy (1982)

Special Guest: Shawn Levy

We're taking the stage and talking about Martin Scorsese's comic masterpiece The King of Comedy.

Joining us is our old friend Skizz Cyzyk to talk to us about his Pride & Joy.

Links:
Buy Shawn Levy's King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis
Buy The King of Comedy on Blu-Ray
Visit the official Jerry Lewis website
Visit the official Sandra Bernhard website
Visit the official Shawn Levy website
Visit the official Skizz Cyzyk website
Learn about The Film Foundation
Follow Martin Scorsese on Facebook
Follow Hit and Stay on Facebook
Listen to our Last Temptation of Christ episode
Listen to our The Day the Clown Cried episode
Listen to the Mondo Film Podcast series on Jerry Lewis

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Special Report: The Day The Clown Cried (1972)

On this special episode of The Projection Booth, Mike and Mondo Justin share their recent find -- a rare copy of the "unreleased" film, The Day the Clown Cried by Jerry Lewis.

Mike explains how he found the print while Mondo Justin gives the rich history of the film before the pair discuss how it was to finally see this filmic Holy Grail.

The film should be available to the public in 2025.

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Links:
Read the Day the Clown Cried screenplays
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