WHY ON EARTH SHOULD I MOAN? – Still nothing to complain about in ‘A HARD DAY’S NIGHT’

YEAH YEAH YEAH to coin a phrase – I know, I know, another appraisal of The Beatles film ‘A Hard Day’s Night.’

Nearly fifty four years old and the subject of countless critiques does the world really need one more?

Well after watching it on television for the umpteenth time over Christmas I decided another set of observations could do no harm – after all, what is wrong in celebrating 87 minutes of such joy one more time?

May the four be with you…………..

Having watched ‘A Hard Day’s Night‘ at least once every eighteen months for roughly the past forty years I thought there was nothing new for me to see. But like the brilliant rock album and great film (which it most certainly is) there is often something new to discover.

Much of the back story I discovered in the two-set DVD edition that I received as a birthday present about five years ago – and while ‘the making of‘ documentary is both fascinating and informative, it also served to shatter one of my lasting illusions of the film.

Down the years when walking along the platform of Liverpool Lime Street station I always conjured the image of the Fab Four being chased down the same walkway in the opening scene – only to discover it was not shot there but at Marylebone Station.

Indeed, the train journey they take in the first twenty minutes of the piece is not from Liverpool to London, but back and forth from Marylebone to Minehead – leaving me wondering whether it was information I really needed to know. 

But no matter how many times I see it (and on this latest viewing did spot a couple of errors in continuity that had previously gone unnoticed) I am always enthralled by the sheer exuberance of how The Beatles perform as actors.

To clarify, ‘A Hard Day’s Night‘ completely breaks with the tradition laid down in films made by the likes of Elvis Presley and Cliff Richard up to that point, as rather than play singing characters The Beatles are themselves. This gives ‘A Hard Day’s Night‘ its documentary feel in a story that sees them travelling to London for a television appearance, providing insight along the way to the lives they were living at the time.

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JOHN, PAUL, GEORGE & RINGO: The whole world at their command.

The film, cleverly directed by Richard Lester, depicts each member with a distinctly individual personality that from this point onward they would retain until they split up; John Lennon (rebel), Paul McCartney (romantic), George Harrison, (thinker), Ringo Starr (jester). 

But in 1964, before a dark side to ‘Beatlemania‘ had developed, their camaraderie is a far cry from the tetchy, squabbling individuals they became when breaking up in front of cameras for ‘Let It Be‘ just five years later.

In early 1964, however, the hand of manager Brian Epstein is still on the tiller, evident in their clean shaven, collar and tie appearance – with hard drugs, political pronouncements and mysticism still someway off.

The music too has yet to undergo the transformation that happened once Bob Dylan and psychedelics replaced Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran as the principal song writing influences of Lennon and McCartney. Nevertheless, the soundtrack of ‘A Hard Day’s Night‘ is still a marvel.

If I Fell,’ ‘Tell Me Why,’ and ‘And I Love Her,’ all have gorgeous melodies, revealing Lennon and McCartney as song writers are already way ahead of the field, the latter song showing what eclecticism The Beatles were capable of in the stunning classical guitar arrangement. 

An oddity of the film, given it is their movie, is the group name never being mentioned – ‘The Beatles‘ appearing on Ringo’s drum kit and on the helicopter in the closing scene – but everywhere else the superb script, written by playwright Alun Owen, contains comical observations on their fame while tossing about several in-jokes for good measure.

The most obvious is frequent comments about Paul’s grandfather, who is travelling with them, in relation to him being ‘a clean old man.’

Played by Wilfrid Brambell, this is a reference to the character Brambell was currently making famous in the television comedy ‘Steptoe and Son‘ where he is often labelled ‘a dirty old man.’ After spending time with The Beatles, Owen manages to give his script strong authenticity, picking up on expressions the group were using such as ‘grotty‘ and ‘mocker‘ that had never been heard before.

What came as a surprise when recently watching the film, was a scene on a backstage staircase where road manager (played by Norman Rossington) says to John Lennon as a chorus line of dancers pass, ‘put those girls down Lennon or I’ll tell your mother.’

It seems a strangely insensitive line, particularly as Lennon had lost his mother six years before and about whom he would go on to write deeply moving songs, most notably ‘Mother‘ and ‘My Mummy’s Dead‘ on his breathtaking 1970 solo album ‘Plastic Ono Band.’ 

But let us not leave ‘A Hard Day’s Night,’ on a sombre note – it is much too upbeat and infectious for that.

If you have seen the film then see it again and dare yourself not to smile. If somehow you have never seen it what a treat awaits – a wonderful opportunity to witness many of the reasons people remain enthralled by The Beatles to this day.

NEIL SAMBROOK is the author of ‘MONTY’S DOUBLE‘ – an acclaimed thriller now available as an Amazon Kindle Book.

This article was first published on 16/1/2018.

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