The Lost Fourth Segment of a National Lampoon Film: Henry Jaglom’s Vanishing Act

A Title Hollywood Never Wanted

Naming a movie The Bomb has always sounded like inviting disaster. In the film industry, the word “bomb” is shorthand for failure — the kind that wipes out profits and careers. The metaphor has existed almost as long as Hollywood itself, so it’s no surprise studios avoid it like a curse.

But Henry Jaglom was never a director who followed rules, especially not Hollywood’s.

Jaglom built a career on improvisation, instinct, and a refusal to conform to the studio mindset. So when he titled one of his segments in a National Lampoon anthology The Bomb, the choice felt entirely in character. It was both a parody of a fading genre and a small act of rebellion.

And ironically, it was the one piece of the anthology that no one ever saw.

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The Segment That Didn’t Make It

Anyone who’s watched the 1982 National Lampoon anthology notices immediately that only three short films made it to the final cut. The rumored fourth segment, The Bomb, isn’t there. It became something of a whispered legend — a project that seemed to exist only in stray references and half-remembered interviews.

Still, some pieces of its story can be traced.

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Early Reports: January 1981

In early 1981, reporting in the Los Angeles Times noted that Henry Jaglom had signed on to direct two comedy parodies for what was then called National Lampoon Goes to the Movies. Jaglom described the job as simply a new way of stretching himself creatively.

We also learn that the cop-movie parody eventually titled Municipalians originally went by The Manipulators. Its cast blended up-and-coming talent like Robbie Benson with seasoned performers such as Richard Widmark. Christopher Lloyd, Henny Youngman, and Harry Reems appeared in supporting roles, a combination that reflected Jaglom’s unconventional tastes.

Among the few viewers the anthology eventually found, this segment is often considered the most coherent of the three that survived.

The same reporting briefly mentioned The Bomb, listing performers Brenda Vaccaro, Roscoe Lee Browne, and Allen Garfield among the cast. No further details were provided.

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A Troubled Production Begins to Show Cracks

By late 1981, entertainment columnists were already calling the project troubled. One report mentioned that the anthology had been planned for a summer release but was pulled back after poor test screenings. These screenings were apparently the moment when The Bomb vanished from the film. Producer Matty Simmons reportedly shifted his attention to reshaping the remaining material, commissioning new connective scenes instead of finishing Jaglom’s disaster-movie parody.

This was the first indication that the segment might not make it into the final film.

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1983: Henry Jaglom Speaks Out

The clearest information about what happened comes from a 1983 feature in the Los Angeles Times. By that point, the anthology had been shelved, and United Artists was quietly looking for a cable outlet willing to take it.

Jaglom, speaking with unusual candor, explained that he hadn’t seen the assembled film until a friend warned him something was wrong. When he finally viewed the studio’s cut, he said it felt nothing like his work:

“It was unrecognizable. It was shocking. I told them it wasn’t my work and I wanted my name off of it.”

Jaglom claimed he was offered the chance to remove his name entirely if he agreed never to discuss the film again. He refused. He hoped the project would simply disappear rather than be released.

His comments also touched on The Bomb. According to Jaglom, the segment had completed principal photography but was never edited. He believed the producer intended to hold it for a possible sequel — something that was never going to happen once the original film’s reception became clear.

Later accounts suggest actors such as Kenneth Mars and Marcia Strassman were involved, though that's not been confirmed outside of set photos that are lost to time and the internet.

A Release No One Noticed

Despite all the turmoil, the anthology did receive a limited theatrical release in 1982, with little promotion and brief engagements. Its real afterlife came quietly through cable, where it aired at odd hours and faded just as silently.

The missing fourth segment never appeared. If the footage still exists, it has remained locked away for more than four decades, a relic of a chaotic production that few participants have ever spoken about.

Today, the film surfaces occasionally on ad-supported streaming services, but The Bomb remains the one element audiences never had a chance to see.

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