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

John Lennon told Paul McCartney about a dream he had where he used a shovel to serve spaghetti to a woman. Paul suggested they film this, John agreed, and the scene is included in the movie.

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Goofs

Halfway through the staircase scene at the beginning of "Your Mother Should Know," John loses his balance and nearly falls off the step. He recovers, however, and the shot continues.

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Quotes

Jolly Jimmy Johnson the Courier: Good morning ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! Welcome to... Mmmagical Mystery Tour!

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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

Referenced in Deconstructing the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour (2018)

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Soundtracks

Flying
(uncredited)
Performed by The Beatles
Written by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr
Published by Capitol/EMI Records

User Reviews

My favorite Beatles film!

Magical Mystery Tour was the first project by the Beatles after the death of their manager and it shows. This film is disorganized, cluttered, plotless, psychadelic, over the top, and represents perfectly what the Beatles were living through at that present time.

And that's what film is all about.

Like "A Hard Day's Night" a mere three years earlier which captured a day in the life of the Beatles, this film shows what the Beatles were living and experiencing then. Imagine it: you're a famous British rock star who captured the world with Beatlemania, you're on your own now, you're watching and helping shape pop culture around the world, you're sampling the sexual, drug, and youth revolutions of 1967, and you want to capture it on film.

The Beatles tried to do that with this film and it's hit and miss. But where else will you see a performance of "I Am The Walrus"? You can see where each of the Beatles were heading: John wrote the spaghetti dream sequence and was in real life deeply into surrealism. George plays "Blue Jay Way" and his Indian mysticism comes through. Paul contributes "The Fool On The Hill" and supervised the film shoot. Ringo is giving the acting job in the film and went on to star in other 1960s films such as "Candy" and "The Magic Christian".

Many people have dismissed this film as a failure and a mess. Watch through the eyes of the Beatles and it's not so bad after all. When I first screened this movie, I watched it at least six times trying to find out the plot, etc. I failed but had fun watching it. And that's the whole point.