The Comedians That Fought the Nazis

Time	Items
All day
11am	11:00 Swan Lake 11:30 Auction \| Theatrical Release
4pm	16:00 Vincent, Francois, Paul et les autres 16:00 A Complete Unknown \| Theatrical Release
5pm	17:30 Pink Lady \| Theatrical Release
6pm	18:00 Mozart's Sister 18:30 The Most Precious of Cargoes 18:45 Auction \| Theatrical Release
8pm	20:00 Debbie Was Here 20:00 Ridicule 20:15 Jim's Story 20:45 Pink Lady \| Theatrical Release

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The Comedians That Fought the Nazis

From Darkness to Light

Dir.: Eric Friedler, Michael Lurie | 108 minutes

23.04.25 20:00	Wednesday 23.04.25	20:00	Cinematheque 1				2025-04-23 20:00:00 2025-04-23 23:00:00 Asia/Jerusalem The Comedians That Fought the Nazis <p>In the film <em>From Darkness to Light</em>, Jerry Lewis, known as the "King of Comedy," attempted to create a film about a clown in a concentration camp. However, Lewis was horrified by the result and ultimately shelved the project. This event will explore comedies created during and after World War II. What jokes were told on the occupied streets under Nazi rule? Which comedians risked their lives to continue performing? And how did comedians, from Charlie Chaplin to Bugs Bunny, contribute to the fight?</p><p>Speaker (in Heb.): Alon Gur Arye</p><p>Entrance is free</p> Cinematheque Jerusalem Cinematheque

Other Screenings

In the film From Darkness to Light, Jerry Lewis, known as the "King of Comedy," attempted to create a film about a clown in a concentration camp. However, Lewis was horrified by the result and ultimately shelved the project. This event will explore comedies created during and after World War II. What jokes were told on the occupied streets under Nazi rule? Which comedians risked their lives to continue performing? And how did comedians, from Charlie Chaplin to Bugs Bunny, contribute to the fight?

Speaker (in Heb.): Alon Gur Arye

Entrance is free

From Darkness to Light

USA, Germany 2024 | 108 minutes | English | Hebrew subtitles

In 1972 the “King of Comedy” Jerry Lewis was at the peak of his career. Driven by the ambition to play a dramatic role, he set out to craft a very special movie project, THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED. It turned out to be an epic fiasco, becoming an elusive ghost of a film with Lewis leaving the set and never speaking about what happened. The movie was never completed and has become the ultimate Hollywood myth. Now, after years of research, extensive materials have been found and restored. This documentary tells the story as daring as the original project itself, with Lewis playing a German clown in a concentration camp long before any other director had narrated a fiction Holocaust film on the big screen. Featuring exclusive interviews with cast and crew members, as well as Jerry Lewis himself, From Darkness to Light uncovers the story of one of the most ambitious US-European co-production projects of its time.

Supported by the Goethe-Institut Israel