The Beatles 1965 “Help” Was A Song, An Album, And A Movie
“Help,” was the title song for the 1965 film The Beatles released featuring their music, as well as the title song for an album by that name.
It was written primarily by John Lennon with some assistance from Paul McCartney. Talking about the song’s inspiration, Lennon later sarcastically mentioned: “The whole Beatles thing was just beyond comprehension. I was subconsciously crying out for help”.
John was 17, Paul was 15 and George was 14 when The Beatles started playing music together in 1958. pic.twitter.com/mKGRkgce48
— Beatles Facts (@FabFourFacts) July 8, 2018
The film “Help” features seven singles from the album, and is the second film starring The Beatles, after “It’s a hard day’s Night.” The plot of the film sees the group struggle to record their new album while trying to protect Ringo from a sinister cult and a pair of mad scientists, all of whom are obsessed with obtaining one of his rings.
“Help” the movie was directed by Richard Lester, who had also directed the first Beatles film. Its theming and subtext were ahead of its time, as John Lennon explained: “I realize, looking back, how advanced it was. It was a precursor to the Batman “Pow! Wow!” on TV—that kind of stuff.”
The promotional video for “Help” — what we today call a music video — is actually just a clip from the feature film at large. It shows our quartet of musicians sitting on a piece of wood across some sawhorses, with Ringo holding an umbrella in the back. At the end, paper rain falls down upon them, and Ringo smiles while he sits high and dry as the others are soaked.
