A Hard Day's Night (1964)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Richard Lester

Writer:

Alun Owen (screenplay)

Release Date:

11 August 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Music

Tagline:

The Beatles starring in their first full-length, hilarious action-packed film !

Plot:

A 'typical' day in the life of the Beatles, including many of their famous songs.

Plot Keywords:

Rock 'n' Roll | The Beatles | Screaming | Beatlemania | Nightclub

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations

US Showtimes:

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Cast

John Lennon	...	John
Paul McCartney	...	Paul
George Harrison	...	George
Ringo Starr	...	Ringo
Wilfrid Brambell	...	John McCartney - Paul's Grandfather
Norman Rossington	...	Norm
John Junkin	...	Shake
Victor Spinetti	...	Richard - T.V. Director
Anna Quayle	...	Millie
Deryck Guyler	...	Police Inspector
Richard Vernon	...	Man on Train
Edward Malin	...	Hotel Waiter (as Eddie Malin)
Robin Ray	...	T.V. Floor Manager
Lionel Blair	...	T.V. Choreographer
Alison Seebohm	...	Dolly - Simon's Secretary

Also Known As:

Beatles No. 1 (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording) | Dolby Digital (2000 re-release)

Certification:

Australia:G (original rating) | Canada:F (Ontario) (re-rating) (1982) | Canada:G (Nova Scotia) (original rating) (1982) | Canada:G (Manitoba/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Canadian Home Video rating) | Canada:PG (Ontario) (original rating) | Iceland:L | Portugal:M/12 | USA:Approved (original rating) | USA:G (re-rating) (1979) | USA:TV-14 (cable rating) | Argentina:Atp | Finland:S | France:U (2001 re-release) | Peru:PT | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | West Germany:6 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia, London, England, UK

Company:

Proscenium Films

Trivia:

The constant mention of Paul's grandfather being "very clean" are references to actor Wilfrid Brambell playing a rag and bone man in "Steptoe and Son" (1962), featuring the catch-phrase, "You dirty old man." "Steptoe and Son" (1962) was remade in the USA as "Sanford and Son" (1972).

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: Just before the group performs the song "I Should Have Known Better", John is sitting in the livestock carriage, playing with a deck of cards. The sound of shuffling can be heard a moment before he begins to shuffle them.

Quotes:

Norm: Stop being taller than me!
Shake: I can't help it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Love Monkey: Coming Out (#1.8)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

She Loves You

Solid gold record of the Liverpool miracles at the point of making pop history.

The Beatles travel down from Liverpool to record a TV show.

If I was to meet Richard Lester I would shake his hand and thank him for recording the Beatles during the middle part of their career when they could entertain but hadn't yet shot off in to outer space. Without this we would have a piece missing from their history - and lets be frank - our history. They changed the world and all they had to change it with were electric guitars and their personalities!

The script is clever in that it showcases the personalities of the group without asking them to do much acting. Wilfred Brambell tags along to give comedy relief and the whole thing fits in plenty of songs that are good - but not as good as what soon followed. They are still tied to the Northern dance halls.

I have always thought that if they had a died in a car crash at this point they would be a mystery to the modern audience - hugely popular at the time - but not particularly stand-out from the other bands around. Like the way we regard Charlie Chaplin or Mary Pickford - both incredibly famous in their prime - but little regarded today.

Whether you like to admit it or not there are three geniuses at work and Ringo Starr. So I guess that it is fitting that Ringo comes across the best of the group: Down-to-earth, chatty, witty and willing to talk to anyone. Even the kids down by the river. John Lennon had a comic wit that could have given him another career had his music not been up to scratch. Talk about being master of the witty comeback.

Anyone watching this film will see London as it really was at the time. Not the swinging sixties that everyone pretends it was. Grubby shops, unpainted windows that look about to fall out of their frames, empty streets bar a few beat up cars.

I guess you could say this is the perfect record of Beatlemania: The driving beat songs (cranked out even quicker on stage), the backstage sieges, the ping-pong put downs that is the hallmark of English humour, the screaming that overpowered the performance. Enjoyable at the time (as light entertainment) it becomes an important historical document now and every generation should see it. Your pop culture education depends on it.