The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash (1978)

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 / S.J. Krammerhead
John Halsey	...	Barry Wom
Ricky Fataar	...	Stig O'Hara (as Rikki Fataar)
Neil Innes	...	Ron Nasty
Michael Palin	...	Eric Manchester
George Harrison	...	The Interviewer
Bianca Jagger	...	Martini
John Belushi	...	Ron Decline
Dan Aykroyd	...	Brian Thigh
Gilda Radner	...	Mrs. Emily Pules
Bill Murray	...	Bill Murray the K.
Gwen Taylor	...	Mrs. Iris Mountbatten / Chastity
Ronnie Wood	...	A Hells Angel (as Ron Wood)
Terence Bayler	...	Leggy Mountbatten
Henry Woolf	...	Arthur Sultan

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:

parody | mockumentary | imaginary band | spoof | the beatles | 

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Taglines:

Comedy spoof of Beatlemania from Monty Python's Eric Idle...

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Genres:

Comedy | Music

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Certificate:

Not Rated

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 Production,Broadway Video,Rutle

Technical Specs

Runtime:

76 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Rutles originally began as a sketch on Eric Idle's UK show Rutland Weekend Television (1975), showing the band (with Idle as Harrison) playing a slower version of "I Must Be in Love" in their movie "A Hard Day's Rut." Lorne Michaels aired the clip on Saturday Night Live (1975) when Idle hosted, which led to a deal for the TV special.

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Goofs

As the Rutles get off the Bognor Express train, a cameraman with a 1970s movie camera is seen following the Rutles out. This recognized as a mistake by Eric Idle on the DVD Director's commentary, where Idle also identifies the cameraman as Gary Weis (co-director and chief cinematographer).

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Quotes

[on manager Leggy Mountbatten's emigration to Australia]
Narrator: It was a bombshell for the Rutles. They were shocked... and stunned.
Dirk McQuickly: Well, we're shocked.
Ron Nasty: Yeah, shocked.
Barry Wom: Shocked.
Dirk McQuickly: And stunned.
Ron Nasty: Yeah, stunned.
Barry Wom: Very stunned.
Reporter: Did Arthur Sultan have any words of encouragement for you?
Ron Nasty: No.
[...]

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Alternate Versions

The original TV version contains one scene which is about 30 seconds longer than the alternate video version. Narrator Eric Idle asks Brian Thigh (Dan Aykroyd), the man who turned down the Rutles: "What's it like to be such a jerk?" He continues criticizing Thigh until he shoots himself. In the video version, Idle simply asks: "What's it like to be such an asshole?"

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Connections

Spoofs Help! (1965)

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Soundtracks

With A Girl Like You
(uncredited)
Written and Produced by Neil Innes
Performed by Neil Innes, Ollie Halsall, Ricky Fataar and John Halsey

User Reviews

The First Rockumentary, brilliant, especially the music

This is not for the younger crowd (unless you are a big Beatle Fan) a very,VERY funny but affectionate spoof of Beatlemania insanity, it's not an actual spoof of the Beatles in fact it pays homage to their enormous talent, just the sleazy side of the music biz.

The video and a lot of the jokes are a bit dated but although the costumes and re-creations of the original merchandise are really good the best thing about this parody is the AMAZING music, Neil Innes sounds just like John Lennon and their original songs sound exactly like the Beatles. The lyrics are hysterically funny and I think Lennon gets the worst of the ribbing especially on songs like "Cheese & Onions". George Harrison fully backed the project & makes a few small appearances and put up a lot of his own money to back the project.

I used to play Rutles tracks at parties and night clubs and people thought they were bootleg or unreleased songs, I mean they really liked them.