A Hard Day’s Night (1964)

Directed by Richard Lester. Starring John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Wilfrid Brambell, Norman Rossington, John Junkin, Victor Spinetti, Anna Quayle, Richard Vernon, Deryck Guyler. [G]

A day-and-a-half in the life of four Liverpool lads in a rock band called the Beatles (you may have heard of ‘em), getting into scattered shenanigans and adventures leading up to a televised concert in London. Energetic fluff shrewdly lets the boys basically play themselves (instead of shoehorning them into a tired plot while playing one-dimensional characters), opening things up so they don’t always just shuffle around as a pack—Ringo gets arrested, George is mistaken for a model, etc. In fact, aside from the lettering on the bass drum, not once during the entire movie are they even referred to as being the Beatles! Alun Owen’s script sparkles with wit and invention, allowing for just the right amount of improvisation and anarchy before things can fly out of control. Gags come fast and furious, though energy wanes a few times and some of the pantomimes wheeze; the “Can’t Buy Me Love” sequence more or less invented the modern music video, a legacy that director Lester has humorously expressed mixed feelings about. Other classic tunes include the title track, “I Should Have Known Better,” “If I Fell,” etc. Brambell is quite amusing playing Paul’s “clean” grandfather. See if you can spot a young Charlotte Rampling, a younger Phil Collins, and the future Mrs. George Harrison (Pattie Boyd) as bit players and extras.

85/100