It's a Mad, Mad, Mad Beatles World

HELP! (1965)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

In one word, "Help!" is chaos. It is cartoonish, highly amped up, sheer manic chaos with great Beatles tunes. It is an affront to cohesive narrative, comprehensive plot or any tangible story - it is more tomfoolery coupled with an anarchic spirit than their previous film, "A Hard Day's Night." In many ways, it may be more authentic to the Beatles, at that time, than the classic "A Hard Day's Night." 

The story, oh scratch that, the idea of this movie is there is a sacrificial ring belonging to some religious Hindu cult (my guess is that it is based on the Thuggees) yet the woman that is about to be sacrificed to the goddess Kali is missing the ring. Somehow this giant red ring is on the finger of Ringo Starr's hand! The Beatles, living in a London row home, try to remove the ring with the help of specialists but somehow it is impenetrable. The last thing anyone wants is for Ringo to be sacrificed because, you know, whoever wears the ring bears the mark of a sacrificial victim.

That is the basic plot thread, the MacGuffin of the film. Beyond that the movie is full of hilarious sight gags including how many doors lead to the Beatles's residence. Even their residence is funny in terms of visual art decoration - most of the Beatles sleep on beds yet John Lennon sleeps in a bed that has been carved out of the floor! Tomfoolery abounds in this movie, from pratfalls involving skis; a pub that has a trap door leading to a basement with a tiger present; the cult's High Priest Clang (Leo McKern, in possibly the most memorable scene-chewing performance) various attempts, along with his cohorts, to get the ring including his head poking out of manholes; Eleanor Bron as the attractive Ahme wearing a diverse array of colorful outfits who sometimes warns Ringo of impending danger (her first name was the inspiration for the band's "Eleanor Rigby" song); a Tom Thumb-sized Paul McCartney in an ashtray, and some destruction of paintings using corkscrews at Buckingham Palace. Oh, did I forgot to mention the use of the James Bond theme and the inclusion of some loopy scientists? 

Either you can get into the right frame of mind with "Help!" or not. When I was a tot, the sight of Ringo relentlessly showered in red paint and the slapstick ski chase shenanigans almost made me sick (I am guessing the color red did it). Now, they are just plain goofy gags made by a team of filmmakers (led by director Richard Lester who helmed the previous Beatles movie) who were stoned and threw everything into the mix without much thought or reason. You don't have to understand it (just like the Monkees' "Head"), just sit and enjoy this most enjoyable "Ticket to Ride" rollercoaster.