Help! (film)
An eastern cult gathers on a beach to sacrifice a woman to their goddess, Kaili. They notice she is not wearing the sacrificial ring. Instead, Ringo Starr has the ring sent to him by the intended victim who is a fan of the band. Determined to retrieve the ring and sacrifice the girl, the chief priest Clang and several cult members leave for London. After failed attempts to steal the ring without Ringo noticing, they confront him in an Indian restaurant. Ringo learns that he will be the next sacrifice if he does not give up the ring. However, the ring is stuck on his finger and he cannot take it off.
Director Richard Lester received a larger budget for this film than he had for A Hard Day's Night thanks to the commercial success of the latter feature. Thus this feature film was in colour and shot on several overseas locations including London, Salisbury Plain, the Austrian Alps, New Providence Island and Paradise Island in the Bahamas. Shooting commenced in the Bahamas on the 23rd of February 1965. Starr commented in The Beatles Anthology that they were in the Bahamas to film the hot weather scenes and therefore had to wear light clothing even though it was winter and the weather at the time was actually cool. Tony Bramwell stated in his book A Magical Mystery Tour that Epstein chose the Bahamas for tax reasons. Filming finished on the 14th of April at Ailsa Avenue in Twickenham.
The original title for the film only changed to Help! very near to its release was Eight Arms to Hold You. This title was announced as the official title in mid-March 1965. The phrase has been used as a title for an album by Veruca Salt and for songs by Goon Squad for the Goonies movie. By mid-April 1965 the press was already announcing the film would be retitled. In an interview Starr said We wanted to use Stop the World We Want to Get On but I believe that Brando's doing that though it may have been said in sarcasm. Producer Walter Shenson also suggested the title The Day the Clowns Collapsed. Help! was settled on as the film's title later in April after neither Lennon nor McCartney were able to compose a good title song from its previous name. Lennon then wrote the song Help! that same night.
Upon its release reviews for Help! were mixed. The Daily Expresss reviewer found Lester's direction a joy to watch and called the Beatles the closest thing to the Marx Brothers since the Marx Brothers. By contrast the Daily Mirror Britain's best-selling newspaper at the time said Help! relied too heavily on the likeable vacant grin of John Lennon the smooth charm of Paul the long-haired good looks of George and the darkly villainous looks of the Long-Nosed One Ringo Starr. In his contemporary review in The New York Times film critic Bosley Crowther stated It's a fiasco of farcical whimseys that are thrown together in this film. A clutter of mechanical gimmicks and madcap chases. Funny? Exciting? Different? Well there's nothing in Help! to compare with that wild ballet of the Beatles racing across a playground in A Hard Day's Night.
The soundtrack was released as the band's fifth studio album under the same name. It included excerpts of well known classical music: Wagner's Lohengrin Act III prelude Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture the Ode to Joy from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and during the end credits and with the Beatles' own comic vocalisations Rossini's Barber of Seville overture. The seven main songs formed the first side of the British release of the Help! album. The second side consisted of other new Beatles songs recorded at the same time or shortly afterwards. The US album released by Capitol Records includes the seven film tracks along with instrumental soundtrack songs orchestrated by Ken Thorne. In addition the US Help! opens with a hidden track stylised as a satirical James Bond Theme before the title track.
Help! was originally distributed theatrically by United Artists which handled distribution from 1965 to the end of 1980. In January 1981 rights to the film reverted from UA to producer Walter Shenson and the film was withdrawn from circulation. Help! was released several times in different video formats by MPI Home Video and The Criterion Collection. A version was released in February 1987 in VHS and Beta through MPI along with a reissue of A Hard Day's Night the very same day. LaserDisc releases include a Criterion CAV laserdisc and a Voyager CLV laserdisc in 1987 each of which had three pressings. The film was released on Blu-ray format in June 2013 by Universal Music now the owners of EMI/Capitol Records using the 2007 restoration.
Up Next
Continue Browsing
Common questions
What is the plot of Help film 1965?
An eastern cult gathers on a beach to sacrifice a woman to their goddess Kaili because Ringo Starr has the sacrificial ring sent to him by the intended victim. The chief priest Clang and several cult members leave for London to retrieve the ring and sacrifice the girl after failed attempts to steal it without Ringo noticing.
When did filming start for Help film 1965?
Shooting commenced in the Bahamas on the 23rd of February 1965. Filming finished on the 14th of April at Ailsa Avenue in Twickenham.
Why was the title changed from Eight Arms to Hold You to Help? film?
The original title Eight Arms to Hold You was announced as the official title in mid-March 1965 but the press announced the retitle by mid-April 1965. Help! was settled on as the film's title later in April after neither Lennon nor McCartney were able to compose a good title song from its previous name.
Who directed the Help film 1965 and what locations were used?
Director Richard Lester received a larger budget for this film than he had for A Hard Day's Night thanks to the commercial success of the latter feature. Thus this feature film was in colour and shot on several overseas locations including London, Salisbury Plain, the Austrian Alps, New Providence Island and Paradise Island in the Bahamas.
What songs are included on the Help album soundtrack 1965?
The seven main songs formed the first side of the British release of the Help! album while the second side consisted of other new Beatles songs recorded at the same time or shortly afterwards. The US album released by Capitol Records includes the seven film tracks along with instrumental soundtrack songs orchestrated by Ken Thorne.