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When They Were So Much Younger, Lads Made 'Help!'

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By JOE MILICIA, The Associated Press

Published: November 20, 2007

CLEVELAND - Ed Sullivan introduced Americans to the Beatles, but "Help!" was the first time they saw the Fab Four in color.

It may not sound like a big deal in an age of HDTV, but in 1965, at the height of Beatlemania, it was something to shout about. "Kids would be screaming when the Beatles were on screen," said Jim Henke, who recalled seeing the film as a child.

Henke, chief curator of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, has helped pay tribute to John, Paul, George and Ringo's madcap movie with an exhibit that opened Saturday and runs through March 30.

"Help!" went beyond the day-in-the-life story line of "A Hard Day's Night," the Beatles' first film. Its plot put the band on the run from a cult and a couple of scientists out to get a ring worn by Ringo Starr.

"It was sort of a comic version of a James Bond movie," Henke said. "There's some pretty silly stuff."

In one scene, John Lennon and Paul McCartney try to get Ringo to cut off his finger to get rid of the ring. "You don't miss your tonsils, do yer?" McCartney quips.

That wacky line and others wrap around a wall at the rock museum exhibit, which has loads of movie memorabilia and artifacts, including the cape wore by Lennon in the Austrian Alps scene, an acoustic guitar he played in the film and an olive corduroy suit with matching boots worn by George Harrison.

The motivation for United Artists to make the film was simple, said Jerry Pam, who did his part to introduce the Beatles to the United States by handling publicity for "Help!" and "A Hard Day's Night."

"They said, 'Wouldn't it be great if we could see the Beatles in color,'" Pam recalled.

The action-packed film included some downtime for the band to sing "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" and other hits.

The title song, written by Lennon, is sort of cry for help from a band that lost its freedom because of its incredible fame. The men were chased by fans everywhere - a phenomenon that seems to still dog McCartney. He was recently pursued in the Hamptons on New York's Long Island by paparazzi seeking photos of him and his new girlfriend.

One highlight is audio from a 1980 interview with Lennon for an article in Playboy magazine in which he talks about the band's state of mind at the time "Help!" was filmed.

"By then, we were smoking marijuana for breakfast," Lennon said.

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