Good Ol' Freda (2013)

A documentary in which Freda Kelly looks back at her career as lifelong secretary for The Beatles.

Director:

Ryan White

Writers:

Jessica Hargrave (as Jessica Lawson), Ryan White

Stars:

Freda Kelly, Paul McCartney, John Lennon

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Freda Kelly	...	Self
John Lennon	...	Self (archive footage)
Paul McCartney	...	Self (archive footage)
Ringo Starr	...	Self
George Harrison	...	Self (archive footage)
Angie McCartney	...	Self
Billy Kinsley	...	Self
Tony Barrow	...	Self
Pete Best	...	Self (archive footage)
Billy Hatton	...	Self
Rachel Norris	...	Self - Freda Kelly's daughter
Elsie Starkey	...	Self - Ringo Starr's mother (archive footage)
Joey Bower	...	Self
Linda McCartney	...	Self (archive footage)
June Underwood	...	Self

Storyline

'Good Ol' Freda' tells the story of Freda Kelly, a shy Liverpudlian teenager asked to work for a young local band hoping to make it big: the Beatles. As the Beatles' fame multiplies, Freda bears witness to music and cultural history but never exploits her insider access. Their loyal secretary from beginning to end, Freda finally tells her tales for the first time in 50 years.

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Plot Keywords:

the beatles | secretary | band | female protagonist | england | 

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Taglines:

Behind a great band, there was a great woman.

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography | History | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some thematic material and smoking

Did You Know?

Trivia

"It's well known that Beatles music is not in many films, and so we knew that was going to be our largest hurdle from the very beginning. I'd never made a Beatles film before, but when you start talking to people who have, you hear about how it's a nightmare to deal with licenses and it's never gonna happen. So it's a total testament to Freda that we got that far, and that we have four Beatles songs in our film, which I think is almost unheard of. It's very clear, when you start talking to Apple - that's the umbrella organization for The Beatles - that there's still a lot of respect for her in that building... and so I think I'm a very lucky filmmaker, in that I could go to the Beatles organizations, and all the circles that are involved in signing off on Beatles music, and pitch my film as a film about a woman named Freda Kelly, who never sold out The Beatles." - Ryan White from a special features interview on the DVD

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Quotes

Freda Kelly: I know Mama Cass tried to gate-crash, and she didn't get in.
[in reference to a small, inner-circle party that followed the premiere of "How I Won the War"; from one of the deleted scenes on the DVD]

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Crazy Credits

A personal video message from Ringo Starr plays over the credits.

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Soundtracks

I Will
Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Performed by The Beatles

User Reviews

Good Ol' Freda is a the story of one woman's fierce loyalty the four most famous men in the world.

The moment that I saw Good Ol' Freda listed in the Hot Docs program, without reading the description, I knew exactly who this doc was about. That's good ol' Freda Kelly, once called the luckiest girl in the world by newspapers and teen rags, because she was the secretary to a little band called The Beatles. The title comes from the 1963 Christmas message recorded by the Fab Four for their fan club, which Kelly also ran, in which they specifically mention "good ol' Freda." Early in the film, Kelly looks at the camera and says, "Who wants to hear the secretary's story?"

The answer of course is – We do, we do! All these years later, the world is still hungry for any piece of the story of The Beatles that has been left untold. And Freda Kelly is our last best hope. She has remained mum for years – she's never sold her story; rarely gives interviews; didn't cash in the treasure trove of Beatles memorabilia in her attic, instead passing it directly to fans or donating to charity. Good Ol' Freda is less a tale of The Beatles and more a tale of one woman's – a girl's actually, being only 17 when she was hired – fierce loyalty and protector of a trust given her by the four most famous men in the world.

Freda Kelly was a nice Liverpudlian girl who found herself in extraordinary circumstances. She coped with those circumstances with more grace than one can imagine and has continued to do so for years. Kelly took her job very seriously, but… she was a fan first and foremost, and she still counts herself as one today. Turns out, that "luckiest girl in the world" appellation was exactly how she felt – and still does. Kelly notes that she agreed to do this doc, with some reservation, because she wants her grandson to know that she did some fun and cool stuff in the '60s. Good Ol' Freda will definitely make that possible.

After the Sunday afternoon screening at TIFF Bell Lightbox, director Ryan White and producer Kathy McCabe came out on stage. The crowd applauded. The Freda Kelly came up. The audience – a packed house – leapt to its feet for a lusty round of ovation. That's the kind of affection Freda Kelly inspires and her story as told in Good Ol' Freda inspires. This doc is a must see, now at Hot Docs or anywhere else you can catch it.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 September 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Good Ol' Freda: Behind a Great Band, There Was a Great Woman

Filming Locations:

Empire Theatre, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,798, 8 September 2013

Gross USA:

$138,811

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$138,811

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tripod Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1