Jerry Lewis once allowed Harry Shearer to watch the film, and he wrote an article about it. It might be online somewhere. It’s probably a very bad film, but hardly anyone has actually seen it, so its horrible reputation is based entirely on the premise of putting a goofy comic into a concentration camp and mixing humor with Nazi atrocities. Years later came “Life Is Beautiful,” a film that was beloved and racked up Oscars. Not to imply that Jerry’s film was anywhere on that level of quality, but remember, he wasn’t savaged by people who saw the film, just by people who were outraged at the idea.
It reminds me a little of the real-life story of Kurt Gerron, documented in “Prisoner of Paradise.”
Years ago there was a film, perhaps made for tv, about a chamber music group in a concentration camp. This film also has some similarities with “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.”
Actually, despite this ridiculous dog of Jerry’s, he was a pretty good film director. Cinderfella and The Nutty Professor, to start.
I hated that Italian concentration camp movie!!!