On this date in 1965 The Beatles second feature film Help! had its UK première. 10 facts about the film:
The film was directed by Richard Lester, and as well as the Fab Four, featured Leo McKern, Eleanor Bron, Victor Spinetti, John Bluthal, Roy Kinnear and Patrick Cargill. Peter Sellers turned down a role because he didn't want to play second fiddle to The Beatles.
At one point, the film was going to be called Eight Arms to Hold You, a title suggested by George Harrison, a reference to the multi-armed statue of the goddess Kali which appears in the film. However, nobody else liked that title much and by the time the movie was edited, it didn't really fit the storyline. There was little enthusiasm by the group to write a song to fit the title, so they went with a song John Lennon had already written – Help! And used that as the title. They could only use it because of the exclamation mark, since the title Help without one had already been registered.
The plot is about the group trying to stop Ringo Starr from being captured by a sinister eastern cult and a pair of mad scientists who want a sacrificial ring which is in Ringo’s possession after a fan sent it to him.
The various locations around the world which appear in the film were chosen mainly because The Beatles had never been to them and wanted an excuse to visit. They’d say to the writers things like “We’ve never been to the Bahamas—could you write that in?” and “I’ve never been Skiing. I wonder if you could write in a scene with skiing?” Before the skiing scene, the band admitted they had never skied before so Lester handed them skis and told them, "What better time to learn? Find a hill and practice!" Their early attempts at skiing were filmed and used in the movie.
At one point they appear to ski under a musical score. Lester said later in an interview that it was to disguise some unsightly "telegraph wires”. This was in the days before CGI so it wasn’t possible to simply edit them out, so they added in the musical notes instead.
The Beatles interest in Indian culture, Yoga, working with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and sitar music, were almost certainly a result of their involvement with this film.
In one scene a cross Channel swimmer pops up and asks for directions to the White Cliffs of Dover. The swimmer is played by Mal Evans, The Beatles’ road manager. He appears again in the final scene in the Bahamas, swimming up to the beach. No dialogue is exchanged, The Beatles simply point in the presumed direction he’d need to go to get to the White Cliffs.
The Hindu goddess Clang and his cult worships is "Kali" (also known as "Kali-Ma"). This is the same goddess worshipped by the cult in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
Eleanor Bron, who plays Ahme, has fourteen costume changes throughout the movie. She also inspired Paul McCartney who liked her name so much that he used it in a song (Eleanor Rigby).
A novelisation called The Beatles in Help! was written by Al Hine and published in 1965. It included a scene which was cut from the film because it was too long. The deleted scene featured Frankie Howerd and Wendy Richard. Frankie's character is called "Sam Ahab" (Bahamas backwards).
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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