Magical Mystery Tour (1967)

The Beatles charter a special bus for a surreal mystery tour.

Directors:

George Harrison (as The Beatles), John Lennon (as The Beatles)

Stars:

John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison

Cast

Complete credited cast:
The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band	...	(as Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band)
Jan Carson	...	Stripper
George Claydon	...	Photographer
Ivor Cutler	...	Mr. Bloodvessel
Shirley Evans	...	Accordionist
Nat Jackley	...	Rubber Man
Nicola Hale	...	Little Girl (as Nichola)
Jessie Robins	...	Ringo's Aunt (as Jessie Robbins)
Derek Royle	...	Jolly Jimmy
Victor Spinetti	...	Army Sergeant
Miranda Forbes	...	Hostess Wendy Winters (as Mandy Weet)
Maggie Wright	...	Starlet

Storyline

The Beatles first film since "Help" was largely Paul McCartney's project. The story follows a bus load of eccentric characters on a magic journey through the English countryside. Rather than a unified narrative, it becomes a series of psychedelic clips promoting various songs including "The Fool on the Hill," "Blue Jay Way," "Your Mother Should Know," "I Am the Walrus" and "Magical Mystery Tour." The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band are seen in a strip club playing "Death Cab for Cutie."

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Plot Keywords:

hare krishna | running after a bus | instrumental music | dwarf | the beatles | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Musical

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 December 1967 (UK)

Also Known As:

Lumottu Beatles-matka

Filming Locations:

Atlantic Hotel, Newquay, Cornwall, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Apple Corps, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

55 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Stereo (1988 re-release)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film bombed both times it appeared on British television. Once the reviews were in, ABC canceled plans to show it during Easter weekend 1968. However, it became a modest success in the 1970s on the American midnight and college movie circuits. The film has been shown sporadically on American independent and public TV stations.

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Goofs

Some shots of the bus driving along country lanes were obviously shot at a later date, when the bus was empty. In The Beatles "Anthology" book, Neil Aspinall describes taking the bus back out on the road after filming had finished, to shoot some external links which had been forgotten.

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Quotes

Buster Bloodvessel: I am your friendly Courier. Mister Bloodvessel is my name. Buster Bloodvessel.

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Crazy Credits

Made in England by The Beatles

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Alternate Versions

The 1988 home video release featured re-mixed stereo versions of the songs and restored & re-mastered "Visual" (pictue) & dialogue (sound).

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Connections

Spoofed in 'Weird Al' Yankovic: The Ultimate Video Collection (2003)

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Soundtracks

Infernal Galop
(uncredited)
Composed by Jacques Offenbach

User Reviews

Good, if taken in context

The problem with most people that don't "get" this little film is that they do not understand the concept of the "day trips to nowhere", which are VERY popular in England. For a small fee, you can hop on a bus and ride around the countryside doing nothing but getting drunk and having fun. And that is all this is about. There are some innovative video segments thrown in for some of the best songs in the Beatles catalog. Rest assured, if you "hated" Yellow Submarine (say wha?), you'll despise this. If you don't mind a half-hour of nonsense, you won't mind this either. Lighten up and dig it.