All You Need Is Cash (TV 1978)
"The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash" (original title)

Charts the adventures of the prefab four, possibly the most famous band of all time.

Directors:

Eric Idle, Gary Weis

Writer:

Eric Idle (conceived and written by)

Stars:

Eric Idle, John Halsey, Ricky Fataar

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eric Idle	...	Dirk McQuickly / The Narrator / Stanley J. Krammerhead III, Jr.
John Halsey	...	Barry Womble
Ricky Fataar	...	Stig O'Hara (as Rikki Fataar)
Neil Innes	...	Ron Nasty
Michael Palin	...	Eric Manchester, Rutle Corp. Press Agent / Lawyer
George Harrison	...	The Interviewer
Bianca Jagger	...	Martini McQuickly
John Belushi	...	Ron Decline, The most feared promoter in the world
Dan Aykroyd	...	Brian Thigh, Ex-Record producer who turned down the Rutles
Gilda Radner	...	Mrs. Emily Pules
Bill Murray	...	Bill Murray the K.
Gwen Taylor	...	Mrs. Iris Mountbatten / Chastity
Ron Wood	...	Hells Angel
Terence Bayler	...	Leggy Mountbatten
Henry Woolf	...	Arthur Sultan, The Surrey Mystic

Storyline

Rutland Weekend Television takes a look at the Pre-fab Four: Dirk, Barry, Stig and Nasty; better known as the Rutles. This documentary follows their career from their early days in Liverpool and Hamburg's infamous Rat-Keller, to their amazing worldwide success. A parody of Beatlemania and the many serious documentaries made about the Beatles.

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Plot Keywords:

the beatles | parody | the beatles song | song | imaginary band | 

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Taglines:

The Rutles, a living legend that will live long after other living legends have died.

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Genres:

Comedy | Music

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Details

Official Sites:

The Official Rutles Home Page The Rutles

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 March 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

All You Need Is Cash

Filming Locations:

Abbey Road Studios, Abbey Road, St. John's Wood, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Above Average Productions Inc., Broadway Video, Rutle Corp

Technical Specs

Runtime:

76 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mick Jagger, Paul Simon and Roger McGough are interviewed in the film and they got a credit on screen, but they didn't appeared in the end credits.

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Goofs

The narrator said that "Ratkeller" means literally in German "Cellar of rats". But "Ratkeller" means actually "counsil cellar". A "cellar of rats" would be "Rattenkeller".

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Quotes

Reporter: It must have been a great honor, meeting the queen.
Ron Nasty: Yes, it must have been.
Reporter: What did she ask you?
Barry Wom: She asked us who we were. And then to get out.
Reporter: What did you say?
Dirk McQuickly: [pointing at Ron Nasty] I said I was him.

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Crazy Credits

Ron Decline, The most feared promoter in the world

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Connections

Spoofs Help! (1965)

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Soundtracks

"Love Life"
Written and Produced by Neil Innes
Parody based on "All You Need Is Love", Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Performed by Neil Innes, Ollie Halsall, Ricky Fataar and John Halsey

User Reviews

An acquired taste, but well worth the effort

Eric Idle's now-classic spoof of The Beatles grew out of his mid-seventies BBC TV series Rutland Weekend Television, which featured a fictional rock group called the Rutland Stones. A bit of creative thinking (and the genius stroke of bringing in the brilliant musical parodist Neil Innes) later, and the Rutles were born. This film, made on a tiny budget but displaying a greater range of ideas and imagination than a dozen current-day Hollywood blockbusters, tells the story of Dirk, Nasty, Stig and Barry, the 'pre-fab four', from their beginnings at the Rat Kellar in Hamburg through their first hit singles, their movies A Hard Day's Rut and Ouch, Che Stadium, tea addiction, Sgt Rutter's Only Darts Club Band, Surrey mystics, the lawsuits, the marriages, Rutle Corps and the final break-up of the band, with a glimpse of their post-fame lives.

The film is an acquired taste, requiring a certain knowledge of the Beatles' career and a liking for Eric Idle's droll sense of (mostly verbal and very British) humour, but if you enjoyed THIS IS SPINAL TAP, then this should bring a smile to your face. Despite it being Idle's project, he is very nearly upstaged at every turn by Innes, who not only offers a letter-perfect pastiche of the Beatles' songs (the highlights being 'Doubleback Alley', 'Piggy In The Middle', 'I Must Be In Love' and 'Cheese and Onions'), but also an uncanny performance as Ron Nasty - the way he walks, talks, slouches, poses and arranges his features are almost scarily close to the real Lennon, particularly his delivery of the line "I'd like to own a squadron of tanks". Everyone will have their own favourite moment, but the superb recreation of the psychedelic animation style of YELLOW SUBMARINE wins it for me every time. The cameos by Mick Jagger and Paul Simon are rather pointless, and they do disrupt the fantasy, but George Harrison is spot-on as a journalist and the Saturday Night Live players are good in their cameo roles. How could anyone resist Bill Murray the K?!