I should have realized from the first moments where poor George and Ringo fall on the sidewalk that this was going to be interesting. The hectic first chase of George, John and Ringo is paired well with the title song, but once on the train and now together with Paul and his granddad (played by Wilfrid Brambell), the meat of the movie begins.

The rest of the movie revolves around the boys being late for taping and rehearsals and generally being scoundrels while arriving just in time to play the songs that were the big hits of the time. There are bits of police chase done Benny Hill-esque with silly sequences of running back and forth set to the Beatles songs. That part I didn’t even mind so much.

One scene, when all four Beatles slip out the fire escape and run to a sports field with slightly sped up film that was clearly shot from a helicopter (you can see hats blowing off and the shot is so shaky that I am frankly surprised they left it in. They end up in a cement square and goof.

However, when the lads are performing of course they are right at home.

and that part of the movie is great. It’s fun to see the mannerisms of each as they play. The end, when they FINALLY end up at the live studio audience taping, it’s a bit of a greatest hits medley and the crowd goes literally wild.

The credits roll over shots of John, Paul, Ringo and George that were used for the album cover and I have always liked those shots.

The picture of the back of George’s head is used with “The End” on it for the final seconds of the film.

So, general thoughts… great songs, terrible plot and some dreadful stretches of drivel, but glad I watched it and I can check that one off the list.

On to Help!