Help! (1965)

Director:

Richard Lester

Writers:

Marc Behm (screenplay) &
Charles Wood (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 August 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Fantasy | Mystery

Tagline:

Stop worrying! HELP! is on the way!

Plot:

Ringo finds himself the human sacrifice target of a cult and the band must try to protect him from it.

Plot Keywords:

Human Sacrifice | Ring | Mad Scientist | The Beatles | Beatles

Awards:

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

John Lennon	...	John (as The Beatles)
Paul McCartney	...	Paul (as The Beatles)
George Harrison	...	George (as The Beatles)
Ringo Starr	...	Ringo (as The Beatles)
Leo McKern	...	Clang
Eleanor Bron	...	Ahme
Victor Spinetti	...	Foot
Roy Kinnear	...	Algernon
Patrick Cargill	...	Superintendent
John Bluthal	...	Bhuta
Alfie Bass	...	Doorman
Warren Mitchell	...	Abdul
Peter Copley	...	Jeweller
Bruce Lacey	...	Lawnmower
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Frankie Howerd	...	Sam Ahab (scenes deleted)
Wendy Richard	...	Lady Macbeth (scenes deleted)

Also Known As:

Beatles Phase II (UK) (working title)
Eight Arms to Hold You (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Dolby Digital (re-release)

Certification:

Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | UK:U | South Korea:12 | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:11 | USA:G (1980)

Filming Locations:

Ailsa Avenue, Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK

Company:

Subafilms

Trivia:

"Help!" was such a late decision for the film title, that when Capitol Records released the first single, "Ticket To Ride" / "Yes It Is", the A-Side was credited as being from the film, "Eight Arms To Hold You".

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Prof. Foot and Algernon are trying to get the ring off Ringo in their lab and Ahme comes in to rescue them, the door she enters is red. Then after she comes in, it is gray.

Quotes:

Algernon: Stop him? Me? It's more than my job's worth to stop him once he gets started. He's out to rule the world... if he can get a government grant.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2007-11-03)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Another Girl

Music video before there were music videos

This is an entertaining movie that serves its sole purpose very well---to showcase a bunch of terrific Beatles songs. Everyone knows the plot---a religious cult needs to retrieve a sacrificial ring which Ringo cannot get off his finger, consequently he has to be sacrificed. The lads go through various adventures in London, Switzerland and the Bahamas before it is all over.

It is easy to imagine this movie being an inspiration for Monty Python later on and it isn't surprising to learn that George Harrison in particlar became good friends with Michael Palin and Eric Idle of Python fame. Now imagine what a combined Beatles-Python movie would've been like!

One scene in "Help!" which I particularly remember is the Leo Mckern, the cult leader, dressed in his sari, drinking tea and collegially discussing his religious beliefs with an Anglican priest. Of the Beatles, John and Ringo have most of the funny lines and the movie exaggerates the idea of George being tight with his money---playing poker with Ringo at Buckingham Palace, pilfering rings from a jeweler, pretending he can't find his wallet thus forcing Ringo to pick up the tab at a pub. The caricature personas the Beatles adopted for this movie in particular became the way many fans viewed them which I think George found to be alternately ironic and irritating since he insisted he was nothing like the movie version of himself.