Released in 1964, 'A Hard Day's Night' was a movie classic. 'Help', which came out a year later, had the potential to be better still; a bigger budget, colour, exotic locations, top-notch British character actors of the calibre of Leo McKern, Patrick Cargill, Victor Spinetti and Roy Kinnear. Yet despite all these plus factors, it turned out to be a major disappointment.
Having wisely retained the services of director Richard Lester, producer Walter Shenson inexplicably failed to hold onto writer Alun Owen. Marc Behm and Charles Wood's script for 'Help!' is, frankly, dreadful. The plot - such as it is - concerns a mystic Eastern sect who pursue the Fab Four all over the world in an effort to recover a sacred ring, which has somehow gotten stuck on Ringo's finger. For sheer inanity, it gives the worst of Elvis Presley's celluloid efforts a run for their money. Much of the Goonish humour seems forced, and the cast constantly winking at the audience grows wearing. Sadly missed are Norman Rossington, John Junkin and Wilfred Brambell from the first film.
John Lennon later likened 'Help!' to the 'Batman' television series. I think it has more in common with 'The Monkees'. Arch plots such as this were routine in that show.
The decision to turn 'Help!' into a larger-than-life action comedy is the main reason for its artistic failure. The pseudo-documentary look of 'Night' suited The Beatles down to the ground; all they had to do was be themselves. Here they are required to react to bizarre happenings, and aren't able to convince themselves, let alone the audience. Their frequent cries of 'ho ho ho' leads one to believe they were so high on pot they forgot they were making a film. Lennon's comment about how they 'became extras in their own film' is accurate. With McKern, Cargill and Spinetti hamming it up outrageously, and Eleanor Bron looking stunningly sexy in Julie Harris' costumes, how could it have been otherwise?
The best gags in 'Help!' are visual, such as The Beatles simultaneously entering four houses and being reunited in a single room, and Patrick Cargill getting out of a small plane to be greeted by a massive flight of steps. But the overall impression is one of complacency on the part of the production team. They knew that the film was likely to make a mint, so were not too concerned with minor details such as a script.
'Help!' only comes to life when The Beatles perform; the 'Ticket To Ride' sequence in the Austrian Alps is stunning ( love the notes on the telegraph lines ), as is the 'Another Girl' section in the Bahamas. My favourite, though, is 'You've Got To Hide Your Love Away'. Marvellous photography throughout. Its no wonder that Lester later became regarded as the 'father' of M.T.V.
An underrated aspect of 'Help!' is the incidental music. Ken Thorne caught the Bond-like atmosphere to a tee, and even includes a clever homage to Monty Norman's 'James Bond Theme' at one point.
'Help!' is a relic from the time when The Beatles were conquering the world. Its worth watching for the music, but it could and should have been so much better.
Having wisely retained the services of director Richard Lester, producer Walter Shenson inexplicably failed to hold onto writer Alun Owen. Marc Behm and Charles Wood's script for 'Help!' is, frankly, dreadful. The plot - such as it is - concerns a mystic Eastern sect who pursue the Fab Four all over the world in an effort to recover a sacred ring, which has somehow gotten stuck on Ringo's finger. For sheer inanity, it gives the worst of Elvis Presley's celluloid efforts a run for their money. Much of the Goonish humour seems forced, and the cast constantly winking at the audience grows wearing. Sadly missed are Norman Rossington, John Junkin and Wilfred Brambell from the first film.
John Lennon later likened 'Help!' to the 'Batman' television series. I think it has more in common with 'The Monkees'. Arch plots such as this were routine in that show.
The decision to turn 'Help!' into a larger-than-life action comedy is the main reason for its artistic failure. The pseudo-documentary look of 'Night' suited The Beatles down to the ground; all they had to do was be themselves. Here they are required to react to bizarre happenings, and aren't able to convince themselves, let alone the audience. Their frequent cries of 'ho ho ho' leads one to believe they were so high on pot they forgot they were making a film. Lennon's comment about how they 'became extras in their own film' is accurate. With McKern, Cargill and Spinetti hamming it up outrageously, and Eleanor Bron looking stunningly sexy in Julie Harris' costumes, how could it have been otherwise?
The best gags in 'Help!' are visual, such as The Beatles simultaneously entering four houses and being reunited in a single room, and Patrick Cargill getting out of a small plane to be greeted by a massive flight of steps. But the overall impression is one of complacency on the part of the production team. They knew that the film was likely to make a mint, so were not too concerned with minor details such as a script.
'Help!' only comes to life when The Beatles perform; the 'Ticket To Ride' sequence in the Austrian Alps is stunning ( love the notes on the telegraph lines ), as is the 'Another Girl' section in the Bahamas. My favourite, though, is 'You've Got To Hide Your Love Away'. Marvellous photography throughout. Its no wonder that Lester later became regarded as the 'father' of M.T.V.
An underrated aspect of 'Help!' is the incidental music. Ken Thorne caught the Bond-like atmosphere to a tee, and even includes a clever homage to Monty Norman's 'James Bond Theme' at one point.
'Help!' is a relic from the time when The Beatles were conquering the world. Its worth watching for the music, but it could and should have been so much better.