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Mod showbiz, kaleidoscopic fame, "all the other pimply hyperboles." A bit of merriment with The Beatles, from Liverpool train station to televised London concert, flurries of gags along the way. A fake beard on Paul McCartney's eternal baby face, anarchy as bubbles in the bathtub for John Lennon, "keep Britain tidy." George Harrison and the advertisement lesson, Ringo Starr with his "inferiority complex" ("that's why I play the drums"). Hotel rooms, press conferences, studio sets, a cramped luggage car for singing "I Should Have Known Better." Mozartian rock 'n' rollers, just four jocular lads enjoying the ride. "Can't Buy Me Love" trumpets the escape from rehearsal—Sennett shenanigans on a field, the camera sped up or slowed down, rolling on the ground or up in a helicopter. A brush with Colonel Blimp: "I fought the war for your sort." "I bet you're sorry you won." Old Guard and New Wave, harried road manager (Norman Rossington) and temperamental television director (Victor Spinetti). Above all Paul's granddad (Wilfrid Brambell), sneaking into gambling clubs and hawking autographed pictures, "he's probably in the middle of an orgy by now!" Cinema's happiest marketing campaign, devised by Richard Lester the music-video Vigo. Blasting spotlights and multiple monitor screens for "And I Love Her," the heavy paraphernalia and meticulous work that go into spontaneity. "That's an in-joke, you know." Ringo the incognito shutterbug in an interlude of his own, the "deserter" in the canal, a dash of poignancy to contrast with the continuous larkiness. Back in time for the medley and one screaming girl after another, "fans are funny like that." The smiling face of pop modernity, lampooned by Rafelson (Head) and rejected by Godard (Sympathy for the Devil). Cinematography by Gilbert Taylor. With John Junkin, Anna Quayle, Deryck Guyler, and Richard Vernon. In black and white.
--- Fernando F. Croce |